Daughters of Twilight
by Davner
Summary: In midst of a crisis, Tenchi makes his decision.


Tenchi Muyo is the property of AIC and Pioneer LDC. The author owns   
only the writing. The story of Beren and Luthien is the property of   
J.R.R. Tolkien. *Gets on his knees* PLEASE!!! PLEASE DON'T SUE ME!!*  
Anyhoo! Here we go!  
  
  
Daughters of Twilight  
  
"Ayeka!" Tenchi cried as he pulled another rock away. He   
coughed as more dust found its way into his lungs. He found a lock   
of purple hair and moved another rock aside. Luckily, the small   
lantern was still giving off light, otherwise this would've been   
impossible. As he pulled Ayeka from the debris, he cursed his bad   
luck. Earlier that day Ryoko and Ayeka had gotten into yet another   
fight, Ayeka stormed off, and Tenchi had gone looking for her. He   
had searched for more than an hour until he heard the sound of   
quiet sobbing coming from Ryoko's cave of all places. He found   
her there, crying. After a few minutes, he managed to convince her   
to come back to the house.  
  
And that's when the earthquake struck.  
  
The roof of the tunnel they were in collapsed right on top of   
them. Ayeka was buried in debris, and the exit blocked off.  
  
He pulled Ayeka into a clearing in the cave and set her down.   
She moaned.  
  
"Tenchi..."  
  
"Ayeka! Are you okay?! Can you hear me!?"  
  
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. She tried to move,   
but cried out in pain.  
  
"Don't move," he told her.  
  
She looked at him fearfully. "I can't feel my right leg."   
Tenchi brought Ayeka's lantern up and checked her injuries. She   
had a gash on her forehead, blood trickling down the right side of   
her face. Her left arm was bruised and cut. Tenchi brought the   
lantern down and raised the hem of Ayeka's kimono. He bit his lip   
worriedly.  
  
"It looks like your leg is broken," he told her quietly.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  
  
"Earthquake," he explained. "The entrance is blocked off."  
  
"Then we're trapped here," she concluded.  
  
He nodded.   
  
Her eyelids fluttered. Tenchi reached out and took her   
shoulder. "Hey, Ayeka, no. Don't close your eyes. You might have   
a concussion. You can't sleep."  
  
She nodded. "Okay. Okay, I'm all right. Is there any way   
out of here?"  
  
Tenchi looked around. "I don't know. I don't remember one.   
Do you know about one?"  
  
Ayeka shook her head. "No."  
  
Tenchi pointed the lantern down the other end of the cave.   
"What about down there?"  
  
She shook her head. "I didn't see one." Her eyelids began   
to droop again.  
  
"Hey!" he cried out. "None of that!"  
  
Her breathing was becoming more labored. "Sorry."  
  
"What were you doing here, anyway?" he asked, more to keep   
her awake than out of curiosity.  
  
"I came here to be alone," she said, "It's the last place   
anyone would think to look for me."  
  
"I see."  
  
"How long...until the others find us, do you think?"  
  
"Don't know. I didn't tell anyone I was looking for you here,   
and like you said, it's the last place anyone would *think* to look."  
  
She nodded and moaned in pain.  
  
Tenchi bit his lip. Those wounds needed tending. He searched   
the small cavern they were in for a source of water. He remembered   
there had been a pool when he found Ryoko, but that tunnel was   
blocked. He found a puddle of stagnant water nearby. He wouldn't   
want to drink it, but it might be okay for cleaning the dirt out of   
Ayeka's cuts. He removed his shrine tunic and dipped it in the   
water. Then he went back to Ayeka.  
  
"Ayeka,"  
  
"Huh?" Her eyelids had been drooping again.  
  
"Eyes open." He knelt down next to her and pressed the wet   
tunic against the cut on her head. She hissed in pain.  
  
"Tenchi?"  
  
"Yeah, Ayeka?"  
  
"I'm scared."  
  
Tenchi licked his lips in worry. "Yeah, I know, Ayeka.   
Don't worry, though. We'll be out of here soon. Ayeka?" Her   
eyelids were fluttering again. "Ayeka!" They opened again.  
  
"Sorry," she said.  
  
"Ayeka," he said worriedly, "You have to keep your eyes open.   
You *can't* sleep!"  
  
She nodded. "I know. I'm sorry. Talk to me, Tenchi. So I   
don't fall asleep. Please?"  
  
He nodded. "Okay. Okay, what do you want to talk about?"  
  
Ayeka swallowed painfully. "Anything. I don't care," she   
said. "Tell me a story. Something I haven't heard before."  
  
"What kind? I..."  
  
"Tenchi, you're not helping," she told him with a smile.   
"Anything will do."  
  
"Well," he said, "There's this story I learned in my western   
lit class."  
  
"Okay," she told him, her breath becoming more unsteady.   
"Tell me that."  
  
"Okay," he said. He took a minute to recall it. He heard   
the story in school last year and hadn't paid all that much   
attention to it. "It's the story of Beren and Luthien." Ayeka   
paid close attention as he began. "Beren..." He tried to remember   
the minute details, but figured they probably weren't important at   
this point. "Beren was a human prince who was driven from his   
home. He wandered throughout the land, befriending the people and   
animals he came into contact with." He smiled and said. "I'm   
sorry, I'm not very good at telling stories."  
  
"You're doing splendidly, Tenchi," Ayeka told him weakly.   
"Please go on."  
  
"One day," Tenchi continued, "Beren was walking through the   
forest. As he was walking, he heard singing. It was the most   
beautiful thing he had ever heard. He began searching for the   
source and found it. He...peered through the bushes and saw a   
beautiful elf girl dancing in a clearing. He fell instantly in   
love with her."  
  
"That's beautiful,"  
  
"So," Tenchi continued, "Consumed by love, he stumbled out   
of the bushes crying out the only elf word he knew that seemed   
appropriate. 'Tinuviel! Tinuviel!' That means, 'Nightingale,'   
or 'Daughter of Twilight.'"  
  
"That's so romantic," Ayeka said, smiling.  
  
"Err...Not quite," Tenchi told her. "How would you react   
if you were walking in the woods and some dirty, unkept man in torn   
clothes came rushing out of the bushes at you screaming nonsense   
at the top of his lungs?"  
  
"Oh my..."  
  
He nodded. "Yup. The girl vanished."  
  
"What did Beren do?"  
  
"He spent the next *year* wandering the woods, calling out,   
'Tinuviel,' as he searched for her. One day, he found her again.   
He came crashing out of the woods again, just like before, but was   
so weak from searching, he collapsed. The elf girl, who was actually   
an elvish princess named, 'Luthien,' didn't run this time. She went   
to him and kneeled beside him. He looked up at her and told her   
he loved her. She fell in love with him right then and there."  
  
"A happy ending," Ayeka said. She grimaced and moaned in   
pain again.   
  
"Ayeka?!"  
  
Her breathing quickened but slowed someone as the pain   
subsided. "I'm okay," she said. "I'm just so tired."  
  
Tenchi got up and began searching their surroundings again.   
He had to get Ayeka out of here. (Damn! If I had brought the   
Tenchi-ken with me, I could *cut* my way out!)  
  
"Tenchi?"  
  
He turned and went back to Ayeka.  
  
"Don't leave me alone. Please?"  
  
"Okay, Ayeka," he said, taking her hand. "I'm here. I'm   
right here."  
  
"Thank you, Tenchi. I don't...I don't want to be alone."   
Once again, her eyelids threatened to drop.  
  
"Ayeka! Focus on me! Stay awake, Ayeka!"  
  
"Okay, okay. I'm awake." She looked at him. "What...what   
happened to Beren and Luthien?"  
  
Tenchi sat down as he tried to remember. He knew he was   
probably butchering the story, but he really didn't care at this   
point as long as it kept Ayeka from falling asleep.  
  
"Luthien's father opposed them and forbid them from marrying.   
Luthien begged him to give Beren a chance, and he did. He told   
Beren that if he could retrieve one of the legendary jewels, the   
Silmarils, from the crown of the dark lord, Morgoth, he could   
marry Luthien. Beren agreed on the spot, or course, and set out   
in search of the dark lord. With him was a small band of elf   
warriors. After many trials, they came to the dark tower, but   
were captured by Morgoth's second in command, Sauron. All but   
Beren died."  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"Luthien felt Beren's despair and went after him. Along the   
way she met a wolfhound named..." He snapped his fingers as he   
tried to remember the name. "Huan. Huan came from the land of gods,   
and was destined to walk the Earth until he was killed by the   
greatest wolf of all. He let Luthien ride on his back, and he took   
her to the dark tower of Morgoth." He paused, both for effect   
and to give himself time to remember what came next. "Luthien,   
a noble elf, used her magic to disguise herself and Huan, and   
were able to enter the tower. They found Beren and freed him, but   
he wasn't going to leave without the Silmaril. Luthien disguised   
him with her magic and, together, they went in search of it."  
  
"They reached the throne room of Morgoth, and Luthien used   
her magic to put the dark court to sleep. Beren went to the   
sleeping Morgoth and pulled his knife. He knew he couldn't kill   
Morgoth, not even the gods could do that, so he set about prying   
the Silmaril out of his iron crown." Ayeka listened anxiously.   
"Just as Beren freed the Silmaril, a fleck of iron from the crown   
hit Morgoth in the eye and awakened him."  
  
Ayeka tensed visibly.  
  
"Beren and Luthien ran. Morgoth screamed in rage and sounded   
the alarm. They were almost outside the gate when a great werewolf   
jumped up in front of them and blocked the way out. Beren lashed   
out with his dagger, but the werewold turned the blow and attacked,   
biting off the hand that held the Silmaril." Ayeka gasped. "Huan   
attacked the werewolf, and the werewolf slashed him across the   
belly, striking a mortal blow. But it was too late. The Silmarils   
are magical. They can be held by those with a good heart, but   
when they come in contact with evil, they burn, and this evil   
creature had just *swallowed* one. The werewolf went mad with   
pain and fled. Luthien was able to keep Beren from bleeding to   
death, but Huan died, killed by the greatest wolf. The two of   
them cried as they fled the tower."  
  
"That's so sad,"  
  
Tenchi nodded. "When they arrived at the palace, Beren went   
before the king, his hands behind his back. The king stood up   
and said, 'When last you were here, you told me you would return   
with a Silmaril in your hand. Where is it?' Beren calmly held   
out his good hand and opened it, revealing nothing. The king   
thought he was joking with him and demanded to know where the   
jewel was. Beren calmly held out his stump and said, 'In my   
*other* hand.' The king finally realized what this man was   
willing to sacrifice for his daughter, and nodded. He gave Beren   
and Luthien permission to marry."  
  
"That's won..wonde..." Ayeka's eyelids fluttered again.  
  
"Ayeka?" Tenchi asked. "Ayeka! Stay with me!"  
  
"I..I can't, Tenchi," she said. "I'm so sorry...I..can't...  
stay awake...any longer..."  
  
He knelt next to her. "You have to," he whispered.  
  
"I can't." she swallowed fearfully. "I..can't."  
  
"Ayeka," he whispered. "Don't."  
  
"I'm...scared...Tenchi..."  
  
"You can't go, Ayeka."  
  
"I don't want to, Tenchi. I...I didn't want to die...without   
you knowing...how I feel."  
  
Fear gripped him. He reached out with his fingertips and   
brushed a few, stray, purple hairs from her eyes. "Don't leave   
me...Tinuviel," he whispered.  
  
"Tenchi..." she whispered. "I love...you..."  
  
"You can't leave, Ayeka," he whispered again. He watched   
her eyelids fall again. He leaned down and gently kissed her.   
He felt Ayeka's body come alive in his arms for a moment.   
  
"Ten...Tenchi?" she asked when their lips parted.  
  
"I love you too,"  
  
Suddenly, the wall next to them collapsed. Tenchi threw   
himself on top of Ayeka to shield her from the falling debris.   
When it was over, he stood up, coughing. Light poured into the   
cave. A shadow fell over him and Ayeka.  
  
"Found 'em!"   
  
Tenchi blinked and looked up. Washu's sly grin met him.   
"Hey, kiddies! Spelunking?"  
  
Tenchi didn't waste time. "Washu! Come quick! Ayeka's   
hurt!"  
  
Washu hurried into the cave, climbing over stray rock and   
debris until she was kneeling over Ayeka.  
  
Ayeka's eyes were closed, but she was mumbling something over   
and over.  
  
"Tenchi...I love....Tenchi..."  
  
Washu checked her injuries and nodded. "Okay, lets get her   
to the lab." She formed a dimensional hole. "Tenchi, help me,   
here." With Tenchi's help, the two of them placed Ayeka into the   
hole. Washu closed it behind the princess and started for the   
cave's new exit.  
  
"Come on, Tenchi. We have to act quick!"  
  
  
Two hours later found Tenchi pacing back and forth in Washu's   
lab. Ryoko, Sasami, and Yosho were waiting in there with him.   
Washu was in another dimensional room, working on Ayeka. Kiyone   
and Mihoshi had left the day before on a mission to break a space   
pirate ring. His father was at work, but had called to say he was   
all right. The earthquake was not a strong one, and the damage   
was minimal.  
  
All these thoughts were pushed aside as Tenchi paced. He   
still couldn't believe he had said it. He had made the choice he   
had been putting off for more than a year. He finally, really did   
it.  
  
And that scared the hell out of him.  
  
Had he really meant it? Or did he simply say it out of fear   
and desperation? She had been on the brink of death. Would he   
say something like that to comfort her, or was it sincere? He   
didn't know!  
  
What was he going to say to her? Now that he had said it,   
should he take it back? Could he take it back?  
  
Did he *want* to take it back?  
  
He didn't know.  
  
He was sure he had meant it at the time. He was certain. He   
wouldn't have said it if he wasn't *certain*.  
  
*Was* he certain?  
  
He bit his lip and continued to pace.  
  
Okay, how did he feel about Ayeka? He cared for her, of   
course...  
  
Cared for her a great deal...  
  
Very much, in fact...  
  
More than...  
  
(Stop,) he told himself. (Yes or no. Do you love Ayeka?)  
  
(It's not that simple!)  
  
(Yes it is. It's a yes or no question. Do you love Ayeka?)  
  
(...I don't know.)  
  
(You don't know?!)  
  
Tenchi didn't answer himself. He didn't have time. The door   
opened, and Washu stepped out. She smiled and said,  
  
"No problem! Some internal injuries, but nothing the greatest   
scientific genius in the universe can't handle!" They all breathed   
a sigh of relief.  
  
"Are you sure, Ms. Washu?" Sasami asked worriedly.  
  
Washu smiled at her and took her shoulders. "Sasami, she'll   
be up and around before you know it."  
  
Sasami hugged her. "Thank you, Ms. Washu!"  
  
Washu smiled and turned to him. "Tenchi, she's asking for   
you."  
  
Tenchi took a nervous breath and nodded. He started for the   
door to Ayeka's room. Ryoko fell into step beside him, but Washu's   
outstretched hand stopped her.  
  
"I said, she's asking for *Tenchi*."  
  
Ryoko's eyes narrowed but nodded. Tenchi entered the room   
alone. He closed the door behind him and found what appeared to   
be a standard, run of the mill, hospital room complete with   
adjustable bed, TV, and flowers. There was a chair next to her   
bed. Tenchi sat in it and pulled it closer to her bed. Ayeka's   
head was bandaged, and her left arm was in a sling. He couldn't   
see her leg under the covers, but considering the condition it had   
been in the last time he saw it, he was sure it was in a cast or   
incapacitated in some other way.  
  
She was resting against the pillows. She looked up and smiled   
at him. "Tenchi."  
  
"How do you feel, Ayeka?"  
  
She smiled painfully. "Tired."  
  
"What did Washu say?"  
  
"That I can sleep now, thankfully." Her eyes closed in pain   
for a moment. "She also says I'll be in bed for a couple of weeks."  
  
Tenchi nodded uncomfortably. "Then...you should get some   
rest."  
  
"Tenchi," she said quickly. "I...I had a dream," she said.   
Tenchi blinked. "I...I dreamed you said...that you loved me." She   
looked at him and bit her lip in concern. "It *was* a dream...  
wasn't it?"  
  
Tenchi blinked in shock at what he was hearing. He couldn't   
believe it! Ayeka was giving him a way out! He could say it was   
a dream and...  
  
Things would go back to normal.  
  
For some reason, that thought disturbed him. He looked at   
Ayeka's face and saw her expression. He saw something there,   
another surprise. She *knew* it wasn't a dream! Then why...  
  
Why would she give him a way out?  
  
He saw the fear in her eyes. She was silently begging him,   
the Kami, the universe as a whole that he would say it wasn't a   
dream. That he would tell her he loved her.  
  
Why was she giving him the option?  
  
(Maybe because she cares about you enough to make it *your*   
decision,) A voice in his head told him. (Maybe that's her gift   
to you.)  
  
In that moment, he made his decision. He leaned over her and   
kissed her tenderly. She reciprocated desperately.   
  
"It wasn't a dream," she concluded quietly.  
  
"It wasn't a dream," he assured her in a whisper.  
  
She blinked, a lone tear streaming down her face. "It wasn't   
a dream," she repeated. "It wasn't a dream."  
  
"No," he said. "It wasn't. I...love you...Ayeka."  
  
Ayeka closed her eyes and rested against the pillows. "I've   
waited so long to hear that, Tenchi. So long...I thought it would   
never come."  
  
Tenchi took her good hand and squeezed it. He felt as if a   
huge weight had been lifted from him. He had made his decision and   
he was now *certain* that it was the right one. He reached out and   
brushed a few errant hairs from her forehead. "You rest," he told   
her. "We'll talk later. Okay?"  
  
Ayeka nodded drowsily. "Okay...Beren."  
  
Tenchi smiled. "Pleasant dreams, Tinuviel."  
  
  
Ryoko growled to herself and repositioned her ear on the door.   
"Dammit, I can't hear anything."  
  
"Forget it, Little Ryoko," Washu told her, "The door's been   
soundproofed."  
  
Ryoko growled and turned on Washu. "Look, *Mom*, there's   
something going on here! I'm just trying to figure out what!"  
  
Washu arched an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"  
  
"I don't know!" Ryoko looked away from her and muttered   
sadly, "It's like that cabin all over again."  
  
"Ah, I see," Washu said. "Ryoko, if it makes you feel any   
better, Ayeka was in no condition to seduce Tenchi. Quite frankly,"   
she said with an exasperated sigh, "I'm surprised she was alive   
when I found them."  
  
Ryoko looked guilty for a moment.  
  
"It's not your fault, Little Ryoko," Washu said quietly.   
"And I'm sure neither of them blame you."  
  
"She will," Ryoko said assuredly. "Just wait. She'll walk   
out of that room so self righteous and tell Tenchi how I *drove*   
her to that cave. Hell, she'll probably accuse me of causing the   
earthquake." Ryoko leaned against the door sadly.  
  
Washu blinked. "You're really worried about this, aren't you?"  
  
"Something happened, Washu," Ryoko told her. "I know it. I   
can *feel* it, and it's not good, whatever it is."  
  
Washu smiled. "Well, don't worry. Ayeka's gonna be fine.   
She'll be in bed for about two weeks, but after that, good as new."   
Ryoko said nothing, just stood there and looked miserable. "You   
know, Ryoko," Washu said, "If you're that worried about it, you   
could go in and apologize to Ayeka."  
  
"Apologize!?" Ryoko cried in disbelief. "But it wasn't my   
fault!"  
  
Washu shrugged. "So? It would still show Ayeka and *Tenchi*   
that you're sorry she got hurt. Think of it as strategy, Ryoko.   
Would Ayeka make a big scene in front of Tenchi if you showed   
remorse for what happened?"  
  
Ryoko blinked. "No, I don't suppose she would."  
  
At that point, Tenchi came out of the room. "She's sleeping."  
  
"Is she okay, Tenchi?" Sasami asked.  
  
Tenchi smiled. "She's fine, Sasami. She's just getting some   
rest."  
  
"Washu," Sasami asked, "Can I go just sit with her for   
awhile?"  
  
"Of course, Sasami." The petite scientist opened the door and   
let Sasami inside.  
  
"Tenchi," Ryoko began. "I just want to say...I'm...sorry...  
about what happened to Ayeka."  
  
Tenchi seemed uncomfortable all of a sudden. "Um...Ryoko..   
It's okay. It was an accident. You can't control the earthquakes   
or anything."  
  
"Are you okay, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked. "You seem...worried."  
  
"I'm fine, Ryoko. Really."  
  
"Well, okay."  
  
Tenchi turned to Washu. "I'll be back later. Can you call   
me when she wakes up?"  
  
Washu nodded. "No prob, Tenchi. I'll let you know."  
  
"Thanks." With that, he walked out of the lab.  
  
  
Tenchi walked up to the shrine and found his grandfather   
there, sweeping the dirt from the shrine steps. Tenchi hesitated.   
Yosho sensed his presence and turned to him.  
  
"You seem troubled, Tenchi,"  
  
"I'm in trouble, Grandpa," Tenchi told him seriously.  
  
Yosho smiled. "So," he said, "You have finally chosen."  
  
Tenchi blinked. "How did you know..."  
  
"Tenchi, not even when you fought Kagato was your expression   
so fearful."  
  
Tenchi didn't answer.  
  
"Need I ask which one?"  
  
Tenchi took a breath. "Ayeka."  
  
Yosho simply nodded. "Congratulations."  
  
Tenchi blinked. "Um...thanks."  
  
"What will you do now?"  
  
"I haven't the faintest idea, Grandpa," Tenchi told him   
honestly. "It all happened so fast. I have no idea what to do next.   
Ryoko has to be told, but I don't want to hurt her."  
  
"Hmmm." Yosho continued to sweep.  
  
"I need help."  
  
Yosho stopped sweeping and turned to him. "Perhaps you've   
grown up, after all."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"There are not many men who would admit that they need help."  
  
"What should I do, Grandpa?"  
  
"You must tell Ryoko how you feel."  
  
"How? How do I do it without hurting her?"  
  
Yosho smiled. "You cannot."  
  
Tenchi swallowed anxiously.   
  
"You have to tell her. You *owe* her that much."  
  
Tenchi nodded slowly. "I will, Grandpa."  
  
Yosho looked up at the sky as a rumble made itself known.   
"Mihoshi and Kiyone are back from their mission," he intoned.  
  
Tenchi looked up and saw the speck of red that was the Yagami   
coming towards them.   
  
"We should go meet them, yes?"   
  
Tenchi nodded and followed his grandfather to the clearing   
where the Yagami usually berthed. They arrived just as the   
boarding ramp of the red spaceship was descending. Kiyone walked   
down the ramp and smiled.   
  
"Hi, guys."  
  
"Hey, Kiyone," Tenchi greeted her.  
  
"Welcome home, Kiyone," Yosho added. "How did it go?"  
  
Kiyone sighed. "All right, for the most part. We broke the   
ring...but...we kinda have a problem."  
  
"Problem?" Tenchi asked.  
  
Kiyone nodded and turned to the Yagami's hatch. "Mihoshi,"  
  
Mihoshi appeared at the hatch holding the hand of a young   
girl. Tenchi and Yosho blinked in surprise. The girl had silver   
hair, almost the same shade as Ryoko's cyan spikes, cut short.   
Her eyes were a light green. She clutched at a headless doll in   
her other hand.  
  
Yosho smiled and knelt down. "Hello there. Who are you?"  
  
The girl stared at him, but said nothing.  
  
"Hi there," Tenchi said cheerily. "I'm Tenchi. How do you   
do?"  
  
Kiyone sighed. "You're wasting your time, I'm afraid. She   
hasn't said a single word since we found her."  
  
"Who is she?" Tenchi asked.  
  
"We found her with the pirate gang. We don't know who she   
is exactly. She might be a kidnap victim or a child of one of the   
pirates." Kiyone took a breath. "Unfortunately, none of the   
pirates are left alive, so we can't ask them."  
  
"What's she doing here?" Tenchi asked her.  
  
"Well," Kiyone said, "It's obvious that she needs medical   
attention, and Washu's lab was the nearest availiable place to get   
it. So we came here."  
  
Yosho tried again. "How would you like some ice cream, hmm?"   
The girl said nothing.  
  
"Any idea what her name is?" Tenchi asked.  
  
Kiyone shook her head. "None."  
  
"Well," Yosho said, "Let's get her to Washu's lab. Maybe she   
can figure something out."  
  
  
"Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm," Washu remarked as she shone the pen   
light in the girl's left eye, then the right. "I don't see any   
recent physical injuries," she remarked. "A little malnourished,   
but nothing Sasami can't fix."  
  
"*Recent* injuries?" Kiyone asked.   
  
Washu nodded. "There's evidence of prior injuries. Her   
arm's been broken twice." She hit a few keys on her holotop. A   
hologram of a human skull appeared before them. Washu pointed out   
some cracks. "And there's signs of fracturing here, and here, and   
here. Near her eyes. This suggests she was punched repeatedly   
over extended periods. Her nose has also been broken at one   
point."  
  
"How Washu?" Mihoshi asked.   
  
Washu looked at her as if she were monumentally naive.   
"Offhand, I'd say systematic abuse."  
  
"Well," Kiyone said, "That might explain her unwillingness to   
speak."  
  
"Poor thing," Mihoshi said.  
  
They turned to the girl and found she was no longer staring   
straight ahead. She was looking to her left. They followed her   
gaze and found she was staring at Ryoko, leaning up against a tree   
in Washu's lab.   
  
Ryoko felt their gaze on her and looked up. "What?" she   
asked.  
  
"Hmmmmm," Washu intoned. "Ryoko, come here."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"'Cause Mommy said so. Now get over here."  
  
Ryoko sighed and floated up to them. The girl followed her   
with her eyes.  
  
"Ryoko, why don't you introduce yourself to our new friend   
here?" Washu said cheerily.  
  
"Um...okay." Ryoko knelt down next to her. "Um...Hello. My   
name is Ryoko."  
  
The girl didn't reply.  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Right...Okay. Well, this is Mihoshi," Ryoko pointed at   
Mihoshi, who waved with a smile. "And this is Kiyone, and Tenchi,   
and Grandpa Yosho." She pointed to Washu. "And that mean old lady   
is Washu." Washu frowned.  
  
Nothing.  
  
"Well, that was a bust," Kiyone commented.  
  
"Hmmmm," was all Washu would say.  
  
At this point, Sasami came out of the room adjacent to   
Washu's lab. She smiled and bounded up to them, Ryo-Ohki perched   
atop her head. "Hello there," she said to the little girl. The   
girl didn't acknowledge her.  
  
"Hey, Sasami," Ryoko greeted her. "How's Ayeka do'in?"  
  
Sasami smiled. "She's doing much better, Ryoko."   
  
Tenchi blinked. He wondered what Ayeka might've told Sasami.   
He didn't want Ryoko to find out about him and Ayeka until he had a   
chance to tell her. He looked up at Ryo-Ohki and sighed in relief.   
If Ayeka had said anything in front of Ryo-Ohki, he knew Ryoko   
would know of it instantly. Still, he would have to speak to Ayeka   
and ask her to remain silent for now.  
  
"Sasami," Washu began, "Could you make a special dinner   
tonight?" She gestured to the girl. "We have to make our new   
friend welcome, after all."  
  
Sasami nodded. "Sure, Washu."  
  
"Good. Now, then, I have work to do, so if you could..."   
she left the hint hanging. They all filed out of Washu's lab. To   
their surprise, the girl followed them.  
  
"Well, we've had a long day," Kiyone told Mihoshi. "I'm   
going to the bath."  
  
"Wait, Kiyone, I'll go with you." The two detectives headed   
for the onsen. Ryoko spread out on the couch, intent on a nap.  
  
"Ryoko?"   
  
Ryoko looked up and saw Sasami smiling at her.  
  
"Yes, Sasami?"  
  
"You wanna play a game?"  
  
Ryoko smiled at Sasami. The little princess was the closest   
thing Ryoko had to a real friend. "Sure thing, Sasami. Whaddya   
got?"  
  
Sasami got out a Jurain checker board and set it up on the   
table. The girl watched cautiously from around a corner.  
  
  
Tenchi reentered Washu's lab holding a small, paperback book   
in his hand. Washu looked up and smiled. "Hey Tenchi."  
  
"Hey, Little Washu."  
  
"She's awake," she commented.  
  
Tenchi nodded. "Can I see her?"  
  
Washu nodded. "I'm sure she wouldn't mind."  
  
Tenchi thanked her and knocked lightly on Ayeka's door.   
"Come in," a weak voice came from the other side. Tenchi turned   
the knob and entered.  
  
Ayeka turned and visibly brightened when she saw who was   
behind the door.  
  
"Tenchi, hello."  
  
He swallowed before answering. "Hey, Ayeka." He deliberately   
dropped the, "Ms." he would normally have attached to her name.   
"How are you feeling?"  
  
"Better," she said simply. He sat in the chair near her bed.   
She smiled.  
  
He shook his head and laughed. "I have no idea what I'm   
supposed to do now," he told her.  
  
She smiled. "Neither do I." She took a breath and continued.   
"I used to dream about this day, plan out what I would say, what   
you would say, what we would do. I'd plan it out perfectly in my   
dreams, and now that it's actually here, all those things seem...  
inadequate."   
  
He nodded. "So...I think we should just take it slow," he   
saw her expression turn to one of fear. "I don't mean that!" he   
said quickly. "I love you, Ayeka. I want you to be with me." She   
relaxed somewhat. "But I don't want to rush, either." She nodded.   
"So the question is, what now?"  
  
Ayeka licked her lips. "What now, indeed?"  
  
"We have to tell Ryoko," he said.  
  
She nodded.  
  
"But...Until the right time comes along...We have to keep it   
to ourselves, okay? I don't want her to react the wrong way."  
  
Ayeka nodded. "I...I see."   
  
Tenchi leaned closer and took her good hand. "Ayeka..."   
Before he could continue, she reached up with her hand and caressed   
his face. Tenchi still had hold of her hand.  
  
"Tenchi. Don't worry. We have time now. All the time in   
world. I'd rather take it slow, and do it right, so don't worry."   
She smiled. "We have time now," she repeated.   
  
He smiled. She was right.  
  
She blinked as she noticed the book in his other hand.   
"What's that?" she asked.  
  
Tenchi blinked, still in the moment. "Oh! I brought this   
for you. Since you're going to be in bed for awhile, I thought   
you'd might want to take a look at this."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"'The Silmarillion,'" He told her. She looked up at him   
questioningly. "The book where I got the story I told you. Beren   
and Luthien."   
  
"Oh!" She took the book with her good hand and examined the   
cover.  
  
"It's heavy reading," he told her, "But you seemed to be   
interested."  
  
"I am. I loved the story you told me."  
  
"I'm afraid I kinda butchered it a little," he said   
sheepishly.  
  
She smiled at him. "I loved it," she said seriously. "But,   
Tenchi, there's a problem..."  
  
Tenchi blinked.  
  
"Um...how can I read a book like this?" She raised her   
wounded arm in emphasis. "How will I turn the pages?"  
  
Tenchi smiled and took the book from her. Sitting back in   
the chair, he opened it to the first page and began to read aloud.   
"'The Ainulindale, The Music of the Ainur. There was Eru, the One,   
who in Arda is called Illuvatar...'"   
  
Ayeka rested against the pillow and listened to the gentle   
sound of Tenchi's voice as he read to her.  
  
  
Sasami giggled. "I win again!"  
  
Ryoko growled at Sasami in mock annoyance. "No one likes a   
cocky winner, Sasami," she remarked with a slight smile. She   
liked playing with Sasami, she was probably the only person she had   
met who didn't judge her in one way or another. She set up the   
checker board again. Sasami moved a piece, then Ryoko.  
  
Suddenly, Sasami looked up at the clock and gasped. "I have   
to start dinner! Washu asked for something special!" She got up   
and started for the kitchen. "Sorry, Ryoko!" she threw over her   
shoulder as she ran. She nearly bumped into Washu on her way there,   
but the diminuitive scientist managed to dodge the tiny princess.   
  
Ryoko spared Washu a nod before sitting back on the couch   
and closing her eyes. She took a breath and let it out slowly.   
Perhaps she had time for a nap before dinner...  
  
She heard someone moving across the table from her and   
opened her eyes, intent on asking Washu what she wanted. To her   
surprise, it wasn't Washu sitting on the other side of the table   
now, but the little girl. Ryoko blinked and looked up to see   
Washu standing near the door, looking at the girl in surprise.  
  
The girl studied the checker board for a moment and moved one   
of the pieces Sasami had left behind. She sat back on her knees   
and looked up at Ryoko expectantly.  
  
"Washu?" Ryoko asked.  
  
"I saw it, Ryoko," Washu told her.  
  
"Um...what should I do?"  
  
"Well," Washu said smugly, "I haven't played checkers in   
awhile, but if memory serves, I think it's your turn."  
  
Ryoko frowned at Washu's condescending tone, but took her   
advice. She leaned forward and studied the board for a moment   
before moving one of her pieces.  
  
The girl stared at the board, and for a moment, Ryoko and   
Washu thought that she had reverted to her original, unmoving self.   
Then, she slowly reached out and moved another piece.  
  
"Hmmmmmm," Washu remarked again. "She seems to react to   
you, Ryoko."  
  
"Any idea why?" Ryoko asked as she moved another piece.  
  
Washu shook her head. "Nope. Not enough data."  
  
Ryoko watched the girl as she moved another piece on the board.  
  
"I took a DNA sample from her when I examined her," Washu   
told her. "I'm going to cross reference it with the GP records and   
see what comes up."  
  
"Hmmm," Ryoko replied noncommittally. "She needs a name."  
  
Washu thought on this and nodded. "Well...she seems to like   
you. Got any ideas?"  
  
"Me?" Ryoko asked. "You want *me* to name her?"  
  
Washu shrugged. "Why not?"  
  
"Well," Ryoko said in thought. "We don't know much about her.   
She's so quiet..." Ryoko thought for a moment and smiled. She   
looked down at the girl. "We'll call you, 'Sizuko.'"  
  
The girl said nothing. Washu nodded in approval. "'Quiet   
Child.' Not bad, Little Ryoko."  
  
The girl remained silent.  
  
  
Tenchi watched Ayeka as her eyes slowly closed and, she fell   
asleep. He closed the book and got up quietly. He leaned over   
her sleeping form and brushed a few hairs from her eyes with his   
fingers. He licked his dry lips and leaned closer, planting a   
gentle kiss on her forehead. She sighed in her sleep and turned   
her head, smiling.  
  
"Good night, Tinuviel," Tenchi whispered. He stood up and   
silently left the room.  
  
He found Washu typing at her holotop in the lab.   
  
"Hello, Tenchi," she said. "You were in there a long time."  
  
He nodded. "Yeah."  
  
She arched an eyebrow and looked at him for a moment before   
returning to her work. "And?"  
  
He blinked. "And what?"  
  
Washu turned back to her computer. "And nothing."  
  
Tenchi regarded her a moment, then turned and left the room.  
  
  
"Oh! There's Tenchi!" Ryoko said excitedly as Tenchi walked   
out of the lab. "Let's go introduce you again, hmm?"  
  
She took Sizuko's hand and led her to him. Tenchi saw this   
and blinked. "Ryoko, what's up?"  
  
Ryoko smiled. "Tenchi, I'd like you to meet Sizuko."  
  
Tenchi smiled and crouched next to the girl. "So you finally   
decided to talk, huh?"  
  
"Nope," Ryoko told him. "I named her."  
  
Tenchi looked up at Ryoko and blinked. "You did?"  
  
Ryoko beamed and nodded.  
  
Tenchi reached out and tossled the girl's hair. "Sizuko, huh?   
Ryoko gave you a good name, didn't she?" Ryoko's smile widened at   
the praise. Sizuko said nothing.  
  
"Dinner's ready!" Sasami called from the kitchen.  
  
"Great!" Tenchi said, I'm starved.  
  
"Me too," Ryoko told him. She looked down at Sizuko. "What   
about you? You hungry?"  
  
The girl said nothing.  
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi began, "Why don't you go get her cleaned up   
and ready for dinner?"  
  
Ryoko blinked. "Me?"  
  
"Yeah. Why not? You named her, so I guess that makes you   
responsible for her." He smiled and walked into the dining room.  
  
Ryoko didn't watch him go. She was in shock.   
"Re...Responsible?" She looked down at the girl to find Sizuko   
staring up at her. Ryoko gave her a weak smile. "Well...Let's go   
get cleaned up, okay?"  
  
Sizuko didn't respond, but allowed Ryoko to lead her to the   
bathroom.  
  
  
"That was delicious, Sasami!" Noboyuki announced, patting   
his stomach.  
  
Sasami giggled. "Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it!"   
  
"And how did our new guest enjoy dinner? Hmm, sweetheart?"   
Noboyuki was smiling at Sizuko, who was munching on some rice without   
enthusiasm. She didn't respond. "Hmmm..."  
  
"She liked it," Ryoko assured them. "Really."  
  
Noboyuki smiled at Ryoko. "You're really taken with her,   
aren't you?"  
  
"Well," Ryoko looked down at Sizuko, sitting next to her,   
"She's cute. I like her."  
  
"Sasami," Tenchi began, pointing at a plate in the princess'   
hand. "Is that Ayeka's dinner?"  
  
Sasami nodded. "I was going to bring it to her. Why?"  
  
"I'd like to do it."  
  
Heads turned at this. Tenchi looked around nervously.  
  
Sasami blinked. "You do?"  
  
"Um...Yeah. I'll do it." He held out his hands.   
  
"Okay, Tenchi," Sasami said with a smile. She handed him   
the plate on a tray with a cup of tea.  
  
Ryoko watched him as he left the room with the tray. Sizuko   
was watching her intently.  
  
  
Tenchi knocked gently on the door and entered without waiting   
for an answer. Ayeka was just waking up. She yawned and blinked   
at him. "Tenchi? What time is it?"  
  
"Dinner time," he told her with a smile. "Sasami made a   
special meal for Sizuko."  
  
Ayeka blinked. "Sizuko?"  
  
Tenchi quickly filled her in. Ayeka shook her head. "Poor   
girl."  
  
Tenchi nodded. "Ryoko's looking out for her now, though."  
  
Ayeka looked at him in confusion. "Ryoko? Are you sure,   
Lo..." She broke off and began to giggle.   
  
"What?" Tenchi asked.  
  
"I'm still calling you, 'Lord Tenchi.'"  
  
He smiled. "It's weird, isn't it."  
  
"We've spent so much time hiding behind walls of ceremony,   
that it's hard to look at you without them."  
  
"I know," he whispered.  
  
"We...We'll have to work on that?" she told him uncertainly.  
  
He nodded and presented the tray to her. "Dinner. Are you   
hungry?"  
  
She nodded. Tenchi placed the tray before her. Ayeka picked   
up the chopsticks with her good hand and began to eat, nibbling her   
food as a proper lady should.  
  
"So what will happen to this Sizuko girl?"  
  
Tenchi shrugged. "I guess that's up to Kiyone and Mihoshi.   
Maybe the'll find her a foster home."  
  
Ayeka nodded. "My parents could help. With their contacts,   
they could easily place her in a good school."  
  
"That's a good idea," Tenchi told her.  
  
She placed the chopsticks down on her plate suddenly. "I   
don't want to do this."  
  
Tenchi blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"I don't want this to be our first dinner together," she told   
him. "Not like this."  
  
He smiled. "Ayeka, you have to eat."  
  
She didn't say anything.  
  
"When you're up and around again," he told her, "We'll have   
dinner together. Just you and me. Okay?" She smiled. "And it   
won't be here," he said with a grin.  
  
Ayeka smiled. "Well, I would love to have dinner with you,"   
she said. "Just as soon as I can get out of this bed."  
  
"Then it's a date."  
  
Ayeka looked uncomfortable for a moment. "Tenchi...would you   
kiss me again?" Tenchi blinked at her. Ayeka went on. "I...It's   
just that...I've waited so long for you to do that....and...I just   
want to experience it again." She looked up at him. "And again,"   
she whispered.  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her. Ayeka closed her eyes and   
held her breath. She felt as if her very soul were being warmed   
over a steady fire. She put her entire being into that kiss. Her   
hands went up and caressed his face. His went up and stroked her   
beautiful tresses.  
  
"Oooops!"   
  
Their eyes snapped open at the sound of the voice. Turning,   
they saw Mihoshi standing in the doorway with a potted plant in her   
arms.   
  
"I'm sorry!" she said quickly, placing the plant on a nearby   
table. "I didn't mean to interrupt! I'll just put this here and be   
on my merry way!" Mihoshi walked out and shut the door behind her.  
  
"Oh no!" Tenchi gasped.  
  
"Get her!" Ayeka said quickly.  
  
Tenchi ran for the door and chased after Mihoshi. Mihoshi   
heard him and turned. She held up her hands. "I really didn't   
mean to interrupt!" She told him. "I'm sorry! I'll just go back   
upstairs and..."  
  
"Mihoshi," Tenchi said quietly. "Come with me."  
  
Mihoshi began to blubber. "I'm in trouble, aren't I?"  
  
Tenchi sighed. "Yeah, Mihoshi, but don't worry." He turned   
back to the door. "So are we."  
  
  
"Well, I guess you'll be sleeping in here," Ryoko said,   
leading Sizuko into the room Sasami and Ayeka normally shared.   
Sasami was already there, wearing her pajamas.   
  
"Hi, Sizuko," Sasami said with a wave. She was determined to   
get a response from the girl.  
  
"Sasami," Ryoko asked, "Can Sizuko borrow some pajamas?"  
  
"Sure, Ryoko!" Sasami went to her dresser and found a pair   
of pajamas decorated with bright orange carrots. Ryoko took them   
from Sasami and held them out to Sizuko. Sizuko merely stared at   
the garments.  
  
"Um...hmmm...Okay. Let's try this." Ryoko reached out and   
undressed the little girl. She bit her lip at the sight of scars   
on her chest. Ryoko helped Sizuko into the pajamas. "Okay, how's   
that?" The girl said nothing. "Okay...well..." Ryoko thought for   
a moment. "How about a story?"  
  
Sizuko just stared.  
  
"Yeah!" Sasami said enthusiastically. "Won't that be great,   
Sizuko?"  
  
No answer.   
  
"Okay." Ryoko helped Sizuko under the covers next to Sasami.   
"Once...there was a handsome prince named...Tenchi." Sasami   
giggled. "One day, while surveying his kingdom, Tenchi came upon   
a cave. When he went inside, he found a beautiful girl asleep   
inside. The prince fell in love with her instantly, and leaned   
forward to kiss her." Sasami giggled again. Sizuko said nothing.   
  
"When he kissed her, the girl woke up and fell in love with   
the prince, who swept her off her feet and carried her back to the   
palace. They got married and lived happily ever after. The end."  
  
"That's a nice story," Sasami said.  
  
Ryoko smiled. "I like to think so."  
  
Sizuko said nothing.  
  
"Well, good night, girls."  
  
"Good night, Ryoko," Sasami said. Ryoko left the room,   
shutting off the lights as she went.  
  
  
"So you can't tell anyone," Tenchi reiterated again. He had   
to make sure that Mihoshi understood what was at stake here. "I'm   
going to tell Ryoko, but I have to wait until the right time."  
  
Mihoshi looked from Tenchi to Ayeka and back again. "Well...  
okay. I won't tell anyone."  
  
"Mihoshi," Tenchi began again. "Don't tell *anyone*...  
please."  
  
"I told you I wouldn't."  
  
"Mihoshi," Ayeka said, "This is important. Please try to   
remember."  
  
"Okay."  
  
Tenchi and Ayeka shared an uncomfortable look.  
  
"So does this mean you guys are a couple?" Mihoshi asked.  
  
Tenchi and Ayeka shared another look, this time smiling.   
"Yeah, Mihoshi," Tenchi said, "That's what it means."  
  
"Oh! I'm so happy for you guys! I really am!" She started   
for th door. "I can't wait to tell the others!"  
  
"MIHOSHI!"  
  
She paused and turned back to them, blinking in puzzlement.   
Then she remembered. "Oh! Yeah! Right! I forgot."  
  
"We're doomed," Ayeka whispered.  
  
Tenchi stepped forward and put his hands on Mihoshi's   
shoulders. "Mihoshi, please, if you were ever our friend, if you   
ever cared about us *and* Ryoko, please...remember."  
  
Mihoshi nodded. "Okay, Tenchi. I'll remember. I promise."  
  
  
"Okay, ready?" Tenchi asked.  
  
Ayeka nodded and leaned against him as he helped her into the   
small hover chair Washu had made for her. Once she was in the chair,   
she took a painful breath.  
  
"Are you okay?" Tenchi asked worriedly.  
  
"Yes," she said. "Yes, Tenchi, I'm fine."  
  
He smiled. "Okay, just one tour around the block then we   
come right back, all right?"  
  
She nodded. "Thank you, Tenchi. If I don't get out of this   
room just for a little while, I'll scream."  
  
He laughed. "Very well, milady," Tenchi said in a clipped   
British accent. "Where to, then?"  
  
Ayeka smiled and stuck her nose in the air. "The lakeside,   
driver." Tenchi pushed her out the door into Washu's lab. The   
redhead was typing at her holotop.  
  
"Where you off to, kids?" Washu asked.  
  
"Just taking a stroll around the yard, Little Washu," Tenchi   
told her.  
  
Washu didn't even look up. "Okay. Don't stay out too late."  
  
  
"Hi, there, Sizuko," Ryoko said as she knelt next to the girl.   
The silver haired child had been standing on the dock, looking out   
at the lake. "How are you?"  
  
Sizuko looked up at her and blinked, but said nothing.  
  
(If only I could get some kind of reaction out of her,)   
Ryoko thought. An idea occurred to her.  
  
"Sizuko, would you like to go for a ride?"  
  
The girl didn't respond.   
  
"I'll take that as a yes," Ryoko told her and picked her up   
by her armpits. She latched firmly onto the girl and took off into   
the air. She felt Sizuko tense in her arms. "Don't worry. I   
won't drop ya. I promise." The girl swallowed nervously, but   
seemed to relax a bit.  
  
"Okay!" Ryoko began. "Let's start with an aerial tour of   
the valley!" She flew up the mountain so that, looking down, they   
could see the entire Masaki valley, the shrine, the cave, the lake,   
and the house. "See down there?" Ryoko asked, pointing at the   
shrine, "That's Grandpa Yosho's shrine." She saw Yosho tending   
the shrine below her and waved. Yosho, by some clairvoyance Ryoko   
had given up trying to understand, noticed them and waved back.   
"Wave to Grandpa Yosho," Ryoko prompted. Sizuko hesitantly   
reached out with her hand and wiggled her fingers at Yosho.   
Ryoko grinned.  
  
With a happy, "Whoop!" Ryoko zoomed lower. "Next we have the   
cave. Remember the cave I told you about in that story? Well here   
it is." She floated above it so Sizuko could get a good look at   
it. "Personally," Ryoko said, some of the happiness in her voice   
gone, "I'm not too fond of the place, but on the other hand this   
*is* where the prince met the young girl!" Ryoko and Sizuko darted   
up. Sizuko tensed again in surprise, but Ryoko's grip on her was   
solid. "Don't worry, I got ya! Now then, next on our tour is..."   
She paused.  
  
There was Tenchi and Ayeka, down by the lake. "Hmmmm,"   
Ryoko murmurred. "Let's go see what Tenchi and Ayeka are doing,   
huh?" Not waiting for a reply from Sizuko, Ryoko started downward.  
  
  
Tenchi pushed Ayeka along the shore of the lake. Ayeka   
looked out at the water and sighed. "I've always liked this lake,   
Tenchi. When we first arrived, I came out here and stared out at   
it for hours. My Ryu-oh is buried here, but even so, it soothed   
me."  
  
"It's always soothed me too," Tenchi told her. He sounded   
uncomfortable. "After...Mom died, I would sit up at night and stare   
at it whenever I was here with Grandpa." He blinked as he   
remembered from where he would stare at the lake. He looked up and   
saw the stone outcropping of Ryoko's cave on the other side of the   
lake.  
  
Ayeka followed his gaze and took a breath. "Tenchi...have   
you told her yet?"  
  
He shook his head. "No. I...I can't bring myself to do it."  
  
"Do what?"  
  
They gasped and turned. Ryoko and Sizuko appeared next to   
them. "Hey, Princess!" Ryoko said with a grin. "I see we're   
wasting no time milking this injury for all it's worth, eh?"  
  
Ayeka didn't return the taunt. She sighed.   
  
Ryoko arched an eyebrow. "What? Is the seduction not going   
so well?" She released Sizuko, flew up, and glomped Tenchi.   
Tenchi tensed just a little.  
  
The demon blinked. "Tenchi?" she asked. "Are you okay?"  
  
Tenchi turned to her. "Ryoko, there's something I..."  
  
"Dinner!" Sasami called out from the house.  
  
"Oh, Tenchi! Can it wait till later? I have to go get Sizuko   
ready for dinner."  
  
Tenchi paused. "Yeah, Ryoko. Sure."  
  
A look of worry passed over her face. She eyed Tenchi and   
Ayeka for a moment before saying, "Okay. We'll talk later, all   
right?" She picked up Sizuko again and disappeared with her.  
  
Ayeka sighed, either in relief or disappointment. It was   
impossible to be sure. "We can't keep doing this to her, Tenchi."  
  
"I know," he told her.  
  
"Do...Do you regret...choosing me, Tenchi?"  
  
"No!" he told her quickly. He circled around the chair and   
knelt before her. "No. I love you, Ayeka." He reached out and   
caressed her cheek. "I love you. The only thing I regret is that   
I didn't realize sooner. If I had...If I had, I don't think we'd   
be in such a mess now. But we're in it, and we're going to get   
through it...together. Okay?" Ayeka reached up with her good   
hand and pressed his palm to her cheek. She closed her eyes and   
held his hand.  
  
"We'd better get back in," she whispered. "They're waiting   
for us."  
  
Tenchi nodded.  
  
  
A week passed. Ayeka's condition improved steadily, and soon,   
she was walking with the aid of a cane. Her arm was weak, but well   
enough to where she didn't need a sling for it anymore. She   
walked around her room, Tenchi right at her side, helping her.   
Washu watched this, and the first hint of suspiscion sprang up.   
Was it her, or did Tenchi seem to be paying Ayeka *a lot* of   
attention lately? Even more than her condition deserved.  
  
Ryoko, it seemed, either hadn't noticed or was trying not to   
think too much of it. She had spent the last week trying to get   
a response out of Sizuko. It was frustrating work. The girl   
didn't seem to respond to anything. Every night Ryoko told her   
another story using story lines that Sasami found suspisciously   
familiar.  
  
"Then the handsome prince slew the evil pirate and held the   
girl in his arms. The princess, who is really irrelevant in this   
story," she said conspiritorially, "was saved, and the great ship,   
Tsunami, was rescued from the evil pirate. The prince leaned   
down and kissed the beautiful girl he had saved, and they all   
returned home to live happily ever after."  
  
With that, she tucked Sizuko in and turned out the light.   
"Good night, girls."  
  
"Good night, Ryoko," Sasami said.  
  
Ryoko turned to leave the room.  
  
"Good...night."  
  
Ryoko whirled around at the sound of the voice. "Sizuko?"  
  
Sizuko didn't respond. Ryoko just smiled and walked out of   
the room.  
  
As she was walking down the stairs, she bumped into Mihoshi.  
  
"Hi, Mihoshi. You'll never believe what just happened!"   
Ryoko told her excitedly.  
  
Mihoshi blinked. "What?"  
  
"Sizuko spoke! She said, 'good night.'" Ryoko looked so   
proud Mihoshi would've thought she was the girl's mother.  
  
"Wow, Ryoko! That's great!"  
  
"I know! Oooh! I have to tell Tenchi!" She started flying   
down the stairs.  
  
Mihoshi paused for a moment. Tenchi...Tenchi...Tenchi...  
Tenchi was with Ayeka....Tenchi didn't want Ryoko to know about   
him and Ayeka yet....Ryoko was on her way to Tenchi....Tenchi was   
with Ayeka...  
  
"EEP!"  
  
She turned and started running down the stairs. "Ryoko!   
Wait a sec!"  
  
Ryoko stopped and turned. "Yeah, Mihoshi?"  
  
"Well...It's just that...I think Tenchi is asleep."  
  
Ryoko blinked. "No, he's not. I just checked his room.   
He's not there." She started searching the house.  
  
"Maybe he's asleep somewhere else!" Mihoshi told her.  
  
Ryoko blinked and turned to the detective. "Mihoshi...what   
are you hiding?"  
  
"Hiding?" Mihoshi asked nervously. "I'm not hiding   
anything."  
  
Ryoko's eyes narrowed. She smiled and said, "You don't have   
to worry. Tenchi told me everything."  
  
Mihoshi blinked. "He did?"  
  
Ryoko nodded. "Uh huh. Everything. He told me he asked   
you not to tell, but it's okay now. I know everything."  
  
Mihoshi sighed in relief. "That's good. I was about to go   
crazy trying to keep it to myself."  
  
"Yeah, I know," Ryoko said, remaining deliberately vague.   
"It's weird isn't it?"  
  
"I know! I was so surprised when I found out!"  
  
Ryoko grinned. "How do you think *I* felt?"  
  
Mihoshi's face fell. "Ryoko, I'm sorry. I know you must be   
hurt."  
  
Ryoko's face fell. She had thought she had stumbled onto   
some minor secret, but Mihoshi was beginning to scare her. "Why   
would I be?" she asked in a haunted whisper.  
  
Mihoshi looked at her sympathetically and reached out,   
hugging the demon. "It's okay, Ryoko. I'm here for you."  
  
"That's...that's great, Mihoshi," Ryoko said, playing for   
time.  
  
"I'm sure it must have been hard for Tenchi to tell you,"   
Mihoshi said. "It hurt him too. I could tell when they told me."  
  
"They?" Ryoko asked. "Who else knows?"  
  
"Well, Tenchi and Ayeka, of course."  
  
Ice clutched at Ryoko's heart. "Yeah," she whispered. "How   
about that?"  
  
"I hope you're not mad at them," Mihoshi said.  
  
"I'm...I'm not mad," Ryoko stuttered.  
  
Mihoshi smiled weakly at her. "I'm glad. I'm glad you can   
be happy for them."  
  
Ryoko blinked back a tear. "Of..of course. Of course I   
can," she whispered. She shut her eyes in pain. By now it was   
all too obvious what Mihoshi was talking about.  
  
Mihoshi saw the pain in her eyes and hugged her again. "I'm   
sorry, Ryoko," she said quietly. "I didn't mean to bring it up   
again. I know it must hurt."  
  
"I...I have to go talk to Tenchi," she said. "Excuse me."  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko paused but didn't turn to Mihoshi. She reached out   
and steadied herself on the stair banister. Her shoulders shook   
as she sobbed quietly.  
  
"Ryoko?" Mihoshi said again, only in a whisper.  
  
(Oh God!) Mihoshi thought. (She didn't know! She *DIDN'T   
KNOW*!) "Ryoko?" Mihoshi asked again, reaching out to the demon.   
Ryoko just disappeared.  
  
Mihoshi stood there in shock. (She didn't know. She didn't   
know.) She fell to her knees. (What have I done?)  
  
  
Tenchi stepped outside into the night and looked up into the   
sky. He had to tell Ryoko. (Tonight,) he promised himself.   
Tonight he'd do it. Ayeka was asleep. The rest of the family was   
probably out as well. It was time. He started to turn to reenter   
the house.  
  
Ryoko was standing in the doorway. "Hello, Tenchi," she   
said quietly.  
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi greeted. "I need to talk to you..."  
  
"How could you do this to me?" she asked him in a whisper.  
  
Tenchi blinked. "What?"  
  
Ryoko stepped closer, and he could make out the moonlight   
reflected in the tears in her eyes. "How could...How could you do   
it?" she whispered again.  
  
Tenchi felt his stomach climb up into his chest.  
  
She approached him. "How..." She shook her head. "Tenchi...  
what did I do?"  
  
Tenchi stared in shock. "Wha..."  
  
"What did I do, Tenchi?" Ryoko asked again. "What did I   
do to drive you away? What did I do...to make you not love me?"   
  
He shook his head. "Ryoko, you didn't do anything wrong...  
I..."  
  
"Please," she whispered, reaching out to him, her fingers   
lightly touched his chest. "Just tell me, Tenchi. Was it the   
fighting?"  
  
"No, Ryoko..."  
  
"Was it my watching you when you sleep? When I tore your   
mother's kimono!? Was that it!?"  
  
"Ryoko, please..."  
  
"Please, Tenchi!" she cried. "Tell me! I promise, whatever   
I did, I won't do it anymore, just please....Please don't do this   
to me...Please. Tell me...Tell me it's a joke, something to teach   
me a lesson! Tell me I'm wrong about the whole thing! But   
*PLEASE*...tell me *anything* but that you don't love me."  
  
Tenchi just stared at her, pain wracking his features. He   
shut his eyes. "I can't," he told her.  
  
Ryoko clutched at his shirt. "Please, Tenchi, please. You   
don't mean that! I know you don't! You *can't* mean that!"  
  
Tenchi took her hands in his and gently removed them from   
his shirt, squeezing them softly. "Ryoko...please..."  
  
She shook her head urgently. "No! Tenchi, please!" Without   
another word, she leaned up and kissed him. Tenchi blinked in   
shock. "Please, Tenchi," she whispered, releasing him from that   
kiss. "I...I love you. I *need* you. Don't you see? Ayeka has   
an entire galaxy. You...You *are* my galaxy. You're my universe.   
You're *everything* to me. I...I can't imagine a universe   
where....where we're not together. Please Tenchi....Please...Don't   
tell me...Don't tell me...it's never going to happen!"  
  
"Ryoko, we never wanted to hurt you."  
  
Ryoko stared at the floor. "Don't you get it?" she whispered.   
"Without you there is *nothing* in my life. You are *it*!"  
  
"You're a big part of my life, too, Ryoko..."  
  
"You're not a part of my life, Tenchi!" she cried out.   
"You *are* my life! All of it! I spent centuries in that cave,   
and just when I thought I was going to lose my mind....I saw you,"   
she finished quietly. "I saw you," she said again. "You...you   
were being carried by your mother, and I saw you, and for the first   
time in *centuries*...someone could *see* me! Do you know how   
happy that made me? That someone could see me? I had...I had all   
but resigned myself to a life alone in that dark cave, but then   
there was you! I spent every day afterward waiting for you to   
come back just so I could be *seen*!"  
  
Tenchi just stood there as Ryoko's soul bled in front of him.  
  
"I just wanted you to see me, Tenchi! And when you freed   
me..." she laughed in bitter joy, "When you freed me, I knew...you   
loved me! You were *supposed* to free me because we were *supposed*   
to be together!"  
  
Tenchi took her by the shoulders. "Ryoko..." He swallowed   
painfully. "I love Ayeka," he told her. Ryoko shut her eyes   
painfully.  
  
"You don't mean that!"   
  
"I do mean it," he told her.  
  
She burst into tears and fell to her knees. She grabbed   
his legs and cried as if to prevent him from flying away forever.  
  
"Please, Tenchi," she sobbed. "Please!"  
  
A tear rolled down his cheek. "I...I can't deny how I feel,   
Ryoko. I love her."  
  
She looked up at him with a tear stained face. "I love   
*you*, Tenchi," she whispered. "I love you." Tenchi didn't know   
what to say. "Okay," she said, closing her eyes and taking a   
breath. "You love Ayeka. Okay. Okay, fine. I can accept that.   
But you love me too, right? You love me too. It's like that   
Jurain thing. You love us both...don't you?"  
  
He wanted to say yes. He wanted to say it for no other reason   
than it would bring her *some* comfort, spare her *some* pain.  
  
But he couldn't lie to her.  
  
He couldn't look her in the eye and lie to her like that.  
  
"Ryoko," he said quietly.  
  
Ryoko caught his meaning before he even said it. She   
squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed, releasing his leg and covering   
her eyes with her hands.  
  
"Ryoko, try to under..."  
  
Before he could finish, she was gone, dematerialized.  
  
Tenchi blinked tears out of his eyes and fell to his knees,   
weeping. The only time he had ever cried harder was when his   
mother had died.  
  
  
Ryoko reappeared in her cave and instantly fell to the floor,   
curling up in a fetal position as she cried. She howled in pain,   
her soul screaming on its own. She reached out and pounded her   
fist against a rock. She felt something odd, sticky on the rock's   
surface. She looked up and saw a blood stain there.  
  
She realized it was *her* blood, Ayeka's blood. (This was   
where it happened,) she realized suddenly. (This is where it   
happened. Right here in the only place that was truly hers.)  
  
She trembled and screamed up at the ceiling.  
  
"THERE'S NO PEACE FOR ME!" she cried. "Not even here," she   
whimpered.  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
She looked up and saw her mother walk out of the shadows.  
  
"What do you want?" Ryoko asked her.  
  
"Did you think I wouldn't sense it?" Washu asked quietly as   
she approached Ryoko. "Did you think I wouldn't know instantly?"  
  
"What do you care?" Ryoko asked bitterly. "It's always been   
just a big joke to you."  
  
Washu shook her head sadly. "No, Ryoko. Never."  
  
"Go away, Washu," Ryoko whispered. "Leave me alone."  
  
"No." Ryoko looked at her. "I'm not leaving you alone now,   
because I know what you're thinking. I know what you're planning   
to do." Ryoko quivered in pain and grief. Washu walked right up   
to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "And I won't let you   
do it."  
  
"You can't stop me," she whispered.   
  
"Yes, I can," Washu told her.   
  
Ryoko engaged a light sword and held it up, allowing her grief   
torn face to glow in the sword's crimson light. On the other side   
of that sword, Washu's saddened features were bathed in a red glow.   
Ryoko screamed and turned the sword's blade on herself, plunging   
it towards her chest. Before the blade touched her, it dissolved.   
Ryoko looked at her empty hand in horror.  
  
She looked up at Washu, hate in her eyes. "YOU HAVE NO   
RIGHT!" she screamed.  
  
Washu shook her head, a tear streaming down her face. "No,   
daughter. I'm the only one who does." She reached out and   
touched Ryoko's forehead with her finger. Ryoko's eyes fluttered,   
and she fell to the floor, asleep.  
  
"Sleep, Ryoko," she whispered. "Just sleep."  
  
  
Ayeka woke up and blinked the sleep out of her eyes. She   
looked up and saw what had awoken her. Tenchi was standing in   
the doorway.  
  
"Tenchi," she said. "Are you okay?" Tenchi looked horrible.   
Tears were streaming down his face. "What happened?" she asked.  
  
Tenchi stepped forward and reached out, embracing her. Ayeka   
wrapped her arm around him and pulled his head into her shoulder   
as he began to sob. She sqeezed her eyes shut. A tear rolled down   
her cheek.  
  
"Shhhhhhh," she whispered. "It's okay, Tenchi. It's okay."   
She held him while he cried and tried to hold back tears of her   
own. "Shhhh," she cooed. "It'll be all right, Tenchi. It'll be   
all right."  
  
(Oh, please, Tsunami, let it be all right.)  
  
  
Ryoko's eyes flashed open. She stared up at the unfamiliar   
ceiling above her.  
  
"Ryoko?"   
  
She turned and found Sasami looking down at her sadly.  
  
"Ryoko? Are you okay?"  
  
The demon turned from her and began to cry again. Sasami   
reached out to the demon, but Ryoko flinched away.  
  
"Ryoko? Please."  
  
"Why are you here?" Ryoko whispered.  
  
Sasami paused. "Ms. Washu asked me..."  
  
Ryoko began to laugh.  
  
Sasami took a worried breath.   
  
"*Mother* thinks you can keep me from doing it, doesn't she?"  
  
Sasami blinked. "Doing what?" she asked.  
  
Ryoko shot up from where she was laying and came face to face   
with Sasami. The princess flinched and looked at the demon in fear.  
  
"Go away," Ryoko hissed. Sasami didn't move. "NOW!"  
  
Sasami fell backwards in shock, staring at Ryoko. She got up   
and ran from the room.  
  
Ryoko blinked as she realized what she had done. "Sasami!   
Wait! I'm sorry!"   
  
It was too late. Sasami was already out of the room.  
  
Ryoko put her face in her hands and cried. (Why are you   
doing this to me?!) she projected as loud as she could.  
  
"You want to die, is that it?"   
  
Ryoko whirled around and faced her mother.  
  
Washu was not in her child form. She faced her daughter   
woman to woman. "You want to die," Washu accused her, "Because   
Tenchi loves someone else."  
  
"No," Ryoko bit out, "Not because Tenchi loves someone else.   
Because he *doesn't* love *me*!"  
  
"And I'm supposed to just let you kill yourself, is that it?"  
  
"Yes!" Ryoko hissed. "Yes, dammit! You claim to love me   
like your daughter and not some experiment! Prove it! Let me die!"  
  
Washu's face pinched in pain. "No. I didn't bear you for   
nine months so you could kill yourself over a man."  
  
"It's not your choice," Ryoko hissed.  
  
"No, it's not," Washu told her. "It's your choice, but   
guess what..." She stood face to face with her daughter. "I'm   
not going to let you make it just yet."  
  
Ryoko slapped her across the face! Washu stood there and took   
the blow.  
  
"I want you to think about it, Ryoko," Washu said. "I want   
you think about the people around you. Instead of thinking about   
what you don't have, I want you to consider what you *do* have.   
You think your universe is so small as to be made up of one man,   
then you are seriously mistaken."  
  
"You can't stop me," Ryoko told her. "You can't watch me   
twenty-four hours a day."  
  
Washu shook her head. "I don't have to. You might have   
noticed by now that your powers are gone." Ryoko seethed at the   
fact that she was right. "When I created you," Washu told her,   
"I was overjoyed by your strength, by the countermeasures I gave   
you to keep you safe from any threat that might present itself. I   
was relieved by the fact that in the entire universe, there were   
perhaps only a handful of threats that could kill you. Well now   
those defenses are going to protect you from the greatest threat   
of all. Your own despair."  
  
Ryoko stood there shaking for a moment. Then with a howl of   
rage, she launched herself at Washu! Her hands wrapped around her   
mother's throat. She wasn't sure what she was trying to do.   
Either kill Washu or force the scientist to kill her, she didn't   
know. Washu fell to the ground, not resisting as Ryoko throttled   
the life from her.  
  
Ryoko saw that Washu wasn't going to resist and broke down.   
Her grip loosened as she collapsed on top of her mother.   
  
"Please," she whispered. "Please, Washu, just let me go.   
Let me die, please."  
  
Washu shook her head. "No. Not yet, Ryoko. I want you to   
think first. Afterwards...after you think about what you have...  
if you still want to throw your life away...then I'll let you."  
  
Ryoko screamed at her in grief and rage. "PLEASE!" she   
begged.  
  
"No," Washu whispered. "No, daughter. Not today."  
  
Ryoko growled at her. "I won't change my mind."  
  
"Then there's nothing wrong with waiting," she told her.  
  
The demon stood up and stormed out the door. Washu watched   
her go. It didn't matter where Ryoko went. There was nothing on   
Earth except Tenchi himself who could kill Ryoko. Without her   
powers, not even Ryoko could take her life. Washu felt the pain   
in her daughter, felt the overwhelming desire to end it, but she   
couldn't let her do it. Perhaps it was selfish of her. For a   
moment, she wavered in her decision, but she couldn't do it. She   
couldn't let her daughter die.  
  
She just couldn't.  
  
  
"Has anyone seen Ryoko?" Tenchi asked at breakfast the next   
morning. Sasami looked uncomfortable. Mihoshi and Kiyone just   
shrugged, unaware of the events of the previous night. Tenchi   
looked simply miserable. And Washu...  
  
Washu sat at the table and finished her breakfast before   
saying, "Tenchi, I would appreciate it if you did not see Ryoko   
for awhile."  
  
The others at the table looked at her in shock. Tenchi took   
a breath. "Little Washu, I know you must hate me for..."  
  
"Tenchi, let's talk in private," Washu said quickly. The   
others watched in confusion as the two walked into the living room.   
Tenchi braced himself for an attack and was surprised when it   
didn't come.  
  
Washu took a deep breath and began. "Ryoko tried to kill   
herself last night."  
  
Tenchi paled. "What?!" he gasped.  
  
Washu nodded. "I...intervened."  
  
Tenchi collapsed into a chair. "What have I done?" he   
whispered.  
  
"What you had to do," she told him.   
  
"You must hate me," he told her.  
  
Washu sighed. "No, Tenchi. How...how do I hate a person   
for loving someone? I can't. But I don't want you going near   
Ryoko for awhile. It'll do more harm than good."  
  
"Shouldn't you be with her?" Tenchi asked. "What if she   
tries to..."  
  
"She can't," Washu interrupted. "I've made sure of it."   
Tenchi looked at her in puzzlement. "I've taken her powers from   
her," Washu explained.  
  
Tenchi's expression went from fear to horror.  
  
"She *can't* kill herself now," Washu told him. "No matter   
how much she might want to. There's not a thing on this planet   
that can do it now except for you, me, and Ayeka."  
  
Tenchi swallowed dryly. "Was that really necessary?" he   
whispered.  
  
Washu looked at him with anger in her green eyes for the   
first time. "Tenchi, don't you dare tell me you think Ryoko   
should just crawl into a cave and cut her own throat! I don't   
give a damn how much she loves you, or what she thinks she's lost!   
She's my daughter! I won't allow her to throw her life away on   
a whim! I don't condemn you for loving Ayeka, don't condemn me   
for loving my daughter!"  
  
Tenchi shut his eyes painfully. "Is there anything I can   
do?" he asked.  
  
Washu paused. "Love Ayeka, Tenchi," she told him quietly.   
"Love her as much as you can for as long as you can. You never   
know when you're going to lose the person you love, Tenchi.   
Believe me, I know. Take that love and run with it. Never look   
back. Live your lives, Tenchi. Both of you. Make sure that...  
the pain...is worth it."  
  
Tenchi didn't know what to say. He started past her for the   
door.  
  
"She's always going to love you, you know," Washu told him.  
  
He paused at the door. "I know," he whispered. "Will...will   
she be okay?" he asked.  
  
Washu turned to him. They shared a long look.  
  
"No," she said and left the room.  
  
Tenchi stood there alone.  
  
  
"Where are you going?" Washu asked her.  
  
Ryoko stiffened. "I want to see her."  
  
"Why?" Washu asked.  
  
"That's none of your business."  
  
"She won't kill you," Washu told her. "No matter how much   
you provoke her. She won't do it."  
  
"I wasn't planning on giving her a choice," Ryoko hissed.   
She turned and saw her *mother* standing there behind her. "Is   
this what it's going to be like? You're going to follow me around   
forever? That's what it'll take."  
  
"No. Just until you come to your senses," Washu told her.   
"And Ayeka's room is off limits to you until you do."  
  
Ryoko walked right past her without another word. Washu   
watched her go.  
  
  
"You look troubled, Tenchi," Yosho told him as he swept the   
shrine's steps.  
  
Tenchi paused. "Grandfather...I need advice."  
  
Yosho continued to sweep. "Oh?"  
  
"I...I've hurt Ryoko, Grandfather, and I don't know how to   
help her. I have no idea what to do. I'm lost."  
  
"What do you want me to do?"  
  
"Tell me...Tell me what to do. How can I make things right   
again?"  
  
Yosho stopped sweeping. "Tenchi, if I tell you what to do,   
do you swear now that you will follow my instructions to the   
letter...without question and without argument?"  
  
Tenchi nodded fiercely. "Yes, Grandfather."  
  
Yosho resumed sweeping. "Washu tells me that Ayeka will be   
able to walk tomorrow. You are going to spend the day with her,   
away from the house. You are going to enjoy yourselves, and at   
some point in the day, you are going to make her laugh. And at   
no time will you mention Ryoko's name."  
  
Tenchi blinked in shock. This wasn't what he was looking   
for. "Grandfather..."  
  
"Without question," Yosho repeated, "Without argument."  
  
Tenchi swallowed dryly and nodded.  
  
"It wasn't what you were looking for," Yosho told him. It   
wasn't a question.  
  
Tenchi nodded.  
  
"Unfortunate. Because it's all I have for you. Ryoko is   
a problem with no solution. No solution *you* have at any rate.   
But now your priorities have changed. You've made a choice, and   
now you must stand by that choice without regrets. You must make   
Ayeka your world."  
  
"Ryoko's my friend," he told his grandfather.  
  
"Ayeka's your love," Yosho reminded him.  
  
Tenchi nodded. "Thank you, Grandfather." He thought for a   
moment. "Grandfather?"  
  
Yosho sighed. "Yes, Tenchi?"  
  
"Um...What should I do? I mean, with Ayeka tomorrow? I   
mean...She's a princess. What can I possibly give her that she   
doesn't already have?"  
  
Yosho spun around and whacked him on the head with the   
broom. "Foolish boy! Don't think about what you can't give her!   
Think of what you can!"  
  
Tenchi rubbed his head painfully. "Yeesh..."  
  
"You will think of something." With that, Yosho returned   
to sweeping. Tenchi sighed and walked down the steps towards   
the house.  
  
  
"Here you go, Sizuko," Sasami said, smiling as she rested   
the plate of food in front of the young girl. Without a word,   
the girl began to eat.  
  
Sasami frowned. Sizuko could speak. She had heard her   
say good night to Ryoko, but she hadn't said a word since then.   
Ryoko was still missing. She hadn't been seen in two days. Washu   
sat at the table and ate calmly, but without gusto.  
  
"Ms. Washu, where's Ryoko?"  
  
Washu took a breath, but didn't face Sasami as she answered.   
"She's thinking, Sasami."  
  
"Maybe I should bring her some dinner."  
  
"I don't think that would be a good idea."  
  
"Do you even know where she is?"  
  
Washu paused. "Truthfully? No. I had to cut my link from   
her. It's a side effect of...I don't know," she finished simply.  
  
Sasami looked on in worry.  
  
Sizuko ate in silence.  
  
  
Ryoko sat on a rock in her cave. There was nothing else she   
*could* do.   
  
Oh, wait, that's right. She could cry.  
  
A tear fell and hit the cave floor.  
  
Tenchi was gone. No, not gone.   
  
Ayeka's.  
  
Tenchi was Ayeka's. She took him from her.  
  
(Kill Ayeka!) she thought. (Just like Kagato taught! Don't   
try to solve the problem, *destroy* the problem!)  
  
No!  
  
Killing Ayeka will hurt Tenchi.  
  
(He'll get over it!)  
  
Not if he really loves her!  
  
(He just *thinks* he loves her! He doesn't really know!)  
  
He says he does!  
  
(So what?! You can't kill yourself! You can't end the pain!   
Why shouldn't we try to eliminate the problem?! Kill Ayeka! Then   
Tenchi will come to you! The pain will go away!)  
  
No! It won't! It'll just get worse!  
  
(What do we have to lose from finding out?)  
  
Ryoko paused.  
  
No.   
  
I can't.  
  
She placed her head in her hands and cried.   
  
I can't. I can't! I can't stop him from loving her! I   
can't! Ican'tIcan'tIcan't!!!  
  
The pain! I can't stand the pain! I can't live with the   
pain! I can't die from the pain! Why can't I die!? Why?!  
  
Why won't she let me die?!  
  
Ryoko continued to cry.  
  
  
Ayeka was having a beautiful dream.   
  
But it was one of those dreams she'd never admit to having   
in a million years.   
  
One of *those* dreams.  
  
She smiled in her sleep and sighed. "Oh, Tenchi..." She   
giggled and rolled over. Her eyes opened.  
  
Tenchi was looking at her. Her eyes widened. "Tenchi?"  
  
He leaned forward and kissed her.  
  
"What time is it?" she asked sleepily.  
  
"Six in the morning," he told her. "How do you feel?"  
  
She blinked in puzzlement. "Okay. What are you doing here   
so early?"  
  
"We're spending the day together," he told her. "There's   
something I want to show you. It's outside."  
  
Ayeka smiled. "Okay. Let me get dressed."  
  
"I'll wait outside."  
  
Ayeka got out of bed and began to dress. She was still weak,   
but she could manage. She struggled with her kimono. Her arm was   
still weak and hurt like hell when she moved it. She couldn't   
reach some of the clasps. For the past week, Sasami had been here   
to help her with it, but the Second Princess was asleep now. What   
was she going to do?  
  
She could ask Tenchi.  
  
Her breath quickened. She couldn't do that!  
  
Why not?  
  
It...It was wrong.  
  
Why?  
  
What choice did she have? She could wait for Sasami to wake   
up, but Tenchi seemed to be in hurry.   
  
She bit her lip and made her decision. She walked slowly to   
the door and opened it a crack.   
  
"Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi was waiting for her. "Ready?"  
  
"Um...No. Tenchi...could you help me?"  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"I...I can't...I seem to be having trouble reaching the clasps   
on my kimono..."  
  
Tenchi turned red. "Oh...well...um...."  
  
"Please, Tenchi?" She seemed rather embarrassed by the whole   
situation.  
  
"Er...Sure," he said with a gentle smile.  
  
He reentered the room and helped Ayeka don her kimono. Ayeka   
was blushing fiercely, but it was okay. She trusted Tenchi. She   
loved him, and he loved her, so why should it be a problem?  
  
It wasn't.  
  
"How's that?" he asked.  
  
Ayeka nodded. "It's fine. Thank you, Tenchi. If you give   
me another minute to freshen up, I'll be ready to go."  
  
Tenchi waited and stepped outside again. Finally, Ayeka   
stepped out, the cane Washu gave her in her hand. Supporting   
herself on this cane, she smiled at him. Tenchi returned her smile   
and took her other hand, leading her outside. He helped her up   
the mountain path almost to the Masaki shrine itself.  
  
Ayeka nearly tripped over a root. "Tenchi, where are we   
going? It's still dark out."  
  
"It's just a little farther," he told her. The forest gave   
way to a grassy hill top. He helped Ayeka sit down and plopped   
down next to her.  
  
She looked up at the sky. She could still see the stars.   
"What did you want to show me, Tenchi?"  
  
Tenchi pointed out at the horizon. "This."  
  
Ayeka watched and waited. Suddenly, a ray of light appeared,   
washing over them as the sun rose in the eastern sky. Ayeka gasped   
as she saw the entire valley illuminated below her.  
  
"Tenchi," she whispered. "It's beautiful."  
  
Tenchi took her hand and squeezed it. "It was the only thing   
I could think of to give you that no one else could."  
  
"It's beautiful," she repeated as the sun cleared the horizon.  
  
Tenchi reached out and found a basket that had been hidden by   
the darkness. "Now, how about breakfast?"  
  
"Breakfast?" she asked. (What next?)  
  
He spread out a blanket on the hill top and took a couple   
of bento boxes out of the basket. "I didn't want to wake up   
Sasami," he told her, "So the food probably isn't the best you've   
ever tasted," he apologized.  
  
"No, it's wonderful, Tenchi!" She told him, sampling what   
he cooked. Okay, so it wasn't wonderful, but it was the thought   
that counted.  
  
He produced a thermos and poured a cup of tea for her. He   
smiled.  
  
"This was a wonderful idea, Tenchi," she told him, smiling.   
"Thank you."  
  
"Day's not over yet," he told her.   
  
"What else do you have planned?" she asked.  
  
"I don't want to strain you," he told her.  
  
"It's no strain!" she said quickly. "Tell me."  
  
"Well, I thought that after this I'd take you into town. But   
if you think it would be too much..."  
  
"It's not!" she assured him. "Really! It isn't! I'd love   
to go into town with you!"  
  
Tenchi smiled. "Okay. But if your leg gives you any trouble,   
you tell me."  
  
She nodded. "I promise, Tenchi."  
  
  
"Washu! Washu!"  
  
Washu turned and saw Sasami running up to her.   
  
"Ayeka's gone!"  
  
Washu held up a note addressed to Noboyuki. "No, she's just   
out for the day."  
  
Sasami took the note and read it. "Aw...That's so sweet!"   
After Ryoko had found out about them, Washu had been forced to   
tell Sasami why she needed her help with Ryoko.  
  
Washu nodded. "I wouldn't expect them back for the rest of   
the day."  
  
Sasami nodded.  
  
"When's breakfast?" Washu asked.  
  
"Oh! I'll start it now, Ms. Washu!" She ran to the lab door   
and gasped when she ran headlong into Ryoko. "Ryoko!"  
  
Ryoko looked down at Sasami...  
  
And smiled.  
  
Sasami smiled back. "Ryoko! You're back!" She hugged the   
demon. "I was so worried!"  
  
Ryoko wrapped an arm around the little girl and hugged her.   
"It's okay, Sasami. I need to talk to Washu alone, okay?"  
  
Sasami nodded. "Okay! Oh, this is so great! I'm going to   
make a special breakfast!"  
  
With that, the little girl ran out of the lab to the kitchen.   
Ryoko turned to her mother.  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko smiled and nodded. "I'm okay, Washu."  
  
Washu smiled, tears in her eyes. "You are?" she whispered.  
  
Ryoko nodded.  
  
Washu approached her and reached out. Ryoko smiled and   
took her hand. "Washu, I know you thought you were doing what   
was best. I understand. Thank you. I know now that you really   
care."  
  
"I do! I do care, Ryoko!" Washu hugged her daughter. "Oh,   
God! I do care!"  
  
Ryoko hugged the scientist. "I know," she said as she   
reached out to Washu's workbench. "I know. But I'm afraid it   
doesn't make any difference." Her hand closed around a handheld   
scanner.  
  
Washu looked up at her. "What?!" She tried to reopen the   
mental link, to find out what was happening, but before she could,   
the scanner came down on her head. Washu fell to the ground,   
unconscious.  
  
Ryoko felt her powers rush back to her. Washu, unconscious,   
was no longer able to block them.   
  
"I'm sorry, Washu," Ryoko told her. "I know you care,"   
she whispered. "But I can't live like this."  
  
She formed an energy sword and shortened the energy blade   
to about six inches. She turned the blade around and pointed it   
at her chest. She took several deep breaths and closed her eyes.  
  
(Goodbye, Tenchi. I love you.)  
  
"Why are you running?"  
  
The voice was so soft that, for just a moment, she thought it   
came from her own mind. She opened her eyes and blinked.  
  
"Why are you running?"  
  
She turned and saw Sizuko standing there.  
  
Ryoko paused. She couldn't just cut herself open with her   
standing there. "Sizuko, go back to the kitchen."  
  
"Why?" she asked.  
  
"I don't want you here. I don't want you to see this. Go   
back to the kitchen and eat your breakfast."  
  
"You're running," she told the demon.  
  
"Yeah!?" Ryoko asked angrily. "So what!? Why shouldn't I   
run?!" she was screaming now.  
  
Sizuko didn't blink. "Mommy ran too."  
  
Ryoko blinked. "Huh?"  
  
"Mommy. She ran too."  
  
Ryoko stared at her.  
  
"She ran. She left me alone."  
  
Ryoko said nothing.  
  
"Why are you running? Why did she leave me?"  
  
Ryoko swallowed dryly.  
  
"Why do you want to leave me?"  
  
"I can't..." Ryoko whispered painfully. "He doesn't love me."  
  
"Why do you want to leave me?"  
  
"It's not that," Ryoko whispered.  
  
"What did I do wrong?" A tear ran quietly down Sizuko's   
cheek. Her eerily calm voice was beginning to crack. "Why are you   
leaving? Why did she leave? Why are you leaving me *again*?!"  
  
Ryoko watched in horror as the girl seemed to just collapse   
in front of her. Not physically. She was still on her feet, but   
the walls that seemed to surround her were crumbling away,   
revealing the shattered child within.  
  
"What did I do?" Sizuko whispered. "I didn't mean it. I   
didn't! Whatever I did, I didn't mean it!"  
  
A tear ran down Ryoko's cheek.  
  
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Sizuko wept. "Please! Please   
don't leave me again! Please! Please, Mommy, don't leave me   
again!" The little girl fell to her knees and began weeping   
uncontrollably.  
  
Ryoko choked back a sob as she watched the girl collapse.   
She saw herself in that little girl. She blinked back tears.  
  
"I DIDN'T MEAN IT!" the girl screamed. "I DIDN'T MEAN IT!"  
  
Ryoko's sword disappeared. She took a hesitant step forward.  
  
"I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY!" Sizuko was sobbing. Ryoko took   
another step. "PLEASE! PLEASE, DON'T GO! *PLEASE*!"  
  
Ryoko took another step and reached out. Sizuko continued   
to cry. She knelt next to the girl and rested her hand on Sizuko's   
shoulder.  
  
Sizuko threw herself into Ryoko's arms, latching onto her   
desperately. "DON'T LEAVE!" She cried. "DON'T LEAVE ME! DON'T   
LEAVE!" She cried into Ryoko's dress.  
  
Tears running down her face, Ryoko reached out and stroked   
Sizuko's hair. "Shhhhhh," she whispered quietly. "Shhhhhh, it's   
okay. I won't go. I promise. It's okay."  
  
Sizuko continued to cry.  
  
"I'm sorry, baby," Ryoko sobbed. "I'm sorry I scared you."  
  
The girl refused to release her. Ryoko could feel the tears   
soak into her dress. She couldn't hold back any longer and began   
to sob herself.  
  
  
Tenchi placed the sundae in front of Ayeka and sat down   
across the booth from her at the ice cream parlor.  
  
"Thank you," Ayeka said happily, picking up her spoon.  
  
"Your welcome," Tenchi said, digging into his own sundae.  
  
Ayeka shook her head. "It's hard to believe there's nothing   
like this on Jurai," she commented, savoring the ice cream.  
  
Tenchi blinked in astonishment. "There's no *ice cream* on   
Jurai?!"  
  
Ayeka shook her head. "No. It appears to be a dessert   
unique to your world."  
  
"That's hard to believe," Tenchi told her.  
  
She nodded. "I know. I intend to bring several quarts with   
me the next time I go to Jurai. Mother will love it."  
  
He smiled. "How are your parents going to handle...well...  
us?"  
  
"Mother and Aunt Funaho will approve," Ayeka told him.   
"Father will take some convincing, but I think he'll come around."   
She smiled reassuredly and scooped up a dollop of ice cream and   
hot fudge.  
  
"How's your leg?" he asked.  
  
"It's fine," she told him.  
  
"Are you sure?" he asked quietly.  
  
"Tenchi, I'm okay," she told him. She reached out   
tentatively and took his hand. "But thank you for worrying." She   
bit her lip with worry and broached the subject she had been   
putting off all morning. "Tenchi, about Ryoko..."  
  
He held up his hand and stopped her. "Not here. Not now,"   
he told her. "I made a promise."  
  
Puzzled, Ayeka only nodded.  
  
"So what would you like to do next?" he asked her.  
  
Ayeka could only shrug. "I really don't know. What does a   
traditional Earth date consist of?"  
  
"Well...I don't know really." Ayeka looked at him oddly.   
"I haven't been on many dates," he admitted. "To be honest...  
you're the first."  
  
Ayeka blushed. "I'm honored."  
  
"Don't be too honored," he told her. "Now I have no idea   
what to do."  
  
"So...let's just do something fun," Ayeka told him.  
  
"Okay. Any ideas?"  
  
"Hmmm," Ayeka thought. She thought about the only source of   
information she had been exposed to concerning dates, TV. "How   
about a movie?"  
  
Tenchi nodded. "Okay. What do you want to see?"  
  
"Let's decide when we get there," she suggested. Tenchi   
nodded in agreement. "And Tenchi," He waited for her to continue.   
"For someone who's never been on a date, I think you're doing   
slendidly."  
  
He smiled. "Thanks, Ayeka."  
  
  
"Are they okay?" Sasami asked quietly.  
  
Washu looked at the corner where her daughter and Sizuko   
were huddled together, clinging to each other. Neither had said   
a word in over two hours, not since Sasami had found them there   
and Washu unconscious.  
  
"I don't know," Washu told her quietly. "But while I was   
out...I know Ryoko had her powers. She has them now. But she's   
still here."  
  
Sasami walked up to them. "Ryoko? Sizuko?"  
  
Ryoko sat on the floor, Sizuko in her arms, and rocked her   
gently.  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
The demon blinked and looked up, seeming to notice the   
princess for the first time. "Sasami?" she whispered.  
  
"Are you okay, Ryoko?" Sasami asked, relieved just to get   
a reaction out of her.  
  
Ryoko stroked Sizuko's hair. "I'm fine, Sasami," she said   
quietly. She resumed stroking the girl's hair.  
  
"What happened, Washu?" Sasami asked.  
  
Washu shook her head. "I don't know, Sasami. But I think   
this might be a part of it." She was typing on her holotop. "The   
information from the GP databanks came in." A picture appeared   
on the screen. Sasami blinked at the woman there.  
  
"That...That kind of looks like Ryoko."  
  
Washu was also staring at the picture. The woman there had   
the same silver hair as Sizuko, worn down behind her back. Her   
eyes were a very light brown, and she had sharp, angular features.   
There was an uncanny resemblance to Ryoko. The two could've been   
sisters.  
  
"Her name is Tenna Oncala," Washu told her. "She was   
kidnapped when her ship was raided fifteen years ago by a gang of   
marauders. She *didn't* have a daughter at the time. Her body   
was found two years ago on a mining asteroid in the Orsini system.   
The autopsy suggested that her death...was self inflicted."  
  
Sasami blinked. "You mean..."  
  
Washu nodded. "She committed suicide."  
  
Sasami looked back at Sizuko. "I bet that's why she's the   
way she is," she said.  
  
"Probably," Washu said with a nod. She looked at her   
daughter. "They both harbor so much pain. More than either one   
of them could ever deserve. Maybe this is a blessing."  
  
"How so, Ms. Washu?"  
  
Washu sighed. "Sasami...Ryoko tried to kill herself.   
That's why she was in here. That's why she knocked me out."   
  
Sasami gasped. "No," she said, shaking her head. "Ryoko   
wouldn't do that!"  
  
"She would, Sasami. She tried. I had to take away her powers   
to stop her from doing it. But she could've done it at any time   
after knocking me out, and she's still here." She watched as her   
daughter sat there, clinging to the young girl like a life   
preserver.  
  
"Is there anything we can do for them?" Sasami asked.  
  
Washu sighed. "I guess we just wait for them to come out of   
it on their own."  
  
  
Ryoko's mind was at war with itself as she sat there and   
stroked Sizuko's hair.  
  
(I still feel the pain, so why am I still here? I have my   
powers. I can end it at any time. Why don't I?)  
  
(Sizuko? Was it Sizuko?)  
  
(Forget Sizuko! She's not your problem!)  
  
(What if I *wanted* her to be my problem?)  
  
(Then you're a fool!)  
  
(I'm already a fool.)  
  
(I can't leave her. I can't hurt her like that. I don't   
have the right.)  
  
(Yes, you do! You didn't ask her to butt into your life!)  
  
(But she did, and now she's a part of it.)  
  
(So what?!)  
  
(...)  
  
(Well?!)  
  
(It's different now.)  
  
(How!? How is it different!? Nothing's changed! Tenchi   
will never love you!)  
  
(I know.)  
  
(He's going to spend the rest of his life with that bitch   
princess!)  
  
(I know.)  
  
(You can't stop it!)  
  
(I know.)  
  
(You can't end the pain as long as you live.)  
  
(....I know.)  
  
(So end it!)  
  
(..............I can't.)  
  
(Why not?!)  
  
(I can't abandon her. I can't leave her...)  
  
(The way Tenchi left you? The way he abandoned you to be   
with Ayeka?)  
  
(It's not the same thing.)  
  
(Isn't it?)  
  
(No. Tenchi doesn't love me less, he just loves Ayeka more.   
He made the only choice he could. This choice...Death...Would   
serve no purpose, and would only hurt someone I care about.)  
  
(Tenchi.) The voice in her head was filled with contempt.  
  
(No. Tenchi has Ayeka now, but Sizuko...She's alone. Just   
like I am. Alone and frightened and filled with pain.)  
  
(It's not your concern.)  
  
(......It is now.)  
  
  
Ayeka shook her head. (This is horrible,) she thought as   
she popped a piece of chocolate in her mouth. (Is this what   
humans really do on dates?)  
  
She looked over and saw Tenchi sitting next to her in the   
theatre. She smiled. It didn't matter if the movie had zero   
plot, lame acting, and bad dialogue. The point was she was here   
with him. Now. Always.  
  
And it wasn't going to change.  
  
She leaned over and whispered, "Tenchi, I don't understand.   
Why do humans come to movies designed to frighten people?" The   
only movie playing at the tiny theatre was a suspense movie, and a   
bad one at that, but the two of them were game for anything so   
they decided to take their chances.  
  
Suddenly, on the screen, a machete blade sliced through the   
door only an inch from the heroine's head. The movie starlet   
screamed.  
  
So did Ayeka. She squealed in surprise and latched onto   
Tenchi without realizing it. She blinked and looked up at him.   
He was blinking down at her in surprise.  
  
She cleared her throat and released him. "I think I see   
now," she said simply.  
  
Tenchi laughed. "Well, if it weren't for that, none of these   
movies would make any money."  
  
Ayeka giggled. They didn't have to worry about disturbing   
anyone. The theatre was practically empty. "I guess it's one of   
those quaint, Earth traditions," she told him with a smile.  
  
"I guess so," he replied. An idea occurred to him, and he   
slowly moved his arm around her, resting his hand on her shoulder.   
Ayeka blinked and looked up at him. She smiled and leaned against   
him.  
  
"This is nice," she sighed.  
  
"Yeah," he whispered.   
  
Their eyes widened as a madman with a chainsaw appeared on   
the screen. The heroine began screaming.  
  
"Tenchi, can we go somewhere else?" Ayeka asked.  
  
"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," he told her with   
perfect honesty. The two got up and left the theatre.  
  
  
(Ryoko? Can you hear me?)  
  
(Beat it, Washu! I don't want to talk to you!)  
  
Ryoko was holding Sizuko, still in that same corner of the   
lab, refusing to leave.   
  
(I know you must hate me for what I've done, Ryoko, but it   
was for your own good.)  
  
Ryoko didn't answer. Sizuko was sleeping fitfully in her arms.  
  
(Do you still want to end it?) Washu asked mentally.  
  
Ryoko didn't answer.  
  
(Ryoko, the little girl in your arms had a mother once. A   
mother who decided to end her own life just like you want to. When   
she did, she left this little girl alone with a father who abused   
her in ways I can't describe to you.)  
  
No response.  
  
(You know what that's like, because it's happened to you.   
You lost your mother when you were young. You were abused in ways   
that still make you shudder in your sleep. I know because I've   
seen your dreams. The two of you are the same.)  
  
Sizuko moaned in her sleep and squirmed a little. Ryoko   
adjusted her grip on the girl. Sizuko resumed sleeping.  
  
(Daughter...You are capable of so much love...I know it.   
What will be gained by throwing it away?)  
  
Nothing.  
  
Washu sighed. How could she get through to her?  
  
  
Ryoko felt Sizuko stir in her arms. She blinked and looked   
down at her. Sizuko was staring up at her, her face once again   
expressionless.  
  
"Hey," Ryoko whispered. "How are you feeling?"  
  
Sizuko hugged her tightly. "Don't...go..." Sizuko whispered.  
  
Ryoko hugged the girl. "I won't," she whispered. "I won't   
go. It's okay."  
  
(What the hell am I going to do?) she asked herself. She   
heard her stomach grumble. She had forgotten the last time she   
had eaten anything.  
  
"Sasami?"  
  
"Yeah, Ryoko?" Sasami asked, rushing to her side.   
  
"Is there any breakfast left?" Ryoko's voice was quiet.  
  
"Yeah! I'll heat it up!" Sasami ran out of the lab.  
  
"Ryoko?"  
  
Ryoko sighed. "Yes, Washu?"  
  
"I think I have an idea."  
  
"I don't want to hear about any of your 'ideas.'" Ryoko   
told her acidly.  
  
"I think you'll want to hear this one. For your sake...and   
for her's."  
  
Ryoko stared at her. "I'm listening."  
  
  
Tenchi and Ayeka sat on the hill and watched the sun set below   
the horizon.  
  
"Tenchi, I had a wonderful time today," Ayeka told him.  
  
"I'm glad," Tenchi told her.  
  
Ayeka shivered. "It's getting cold out."  
  
"You wanna go back in?" Tenchi asked her.  
  
"No," she said. "Let's stay here for awhile." She swallowed   
nervously and took the initiative, snuggling up closer to him.   
"This feels right," she said.  
  
"Yeah, it does," Tenchi whispered. He wrapped an arm   
around her and pulled her closer to him. The last slivers of   
daylight were disappearing behind the mountains.  
  
Tenchi leaned over and kissed her as the last ray of light   
went out. Ayeka wrapped her arms around him and reciprocated   
fiercely. Tenchi felt his pulse quicken as they kissed. He   
tightened his embrace, holding her closer, nearly crushing her to   
his chest. Ayeka gasped and tightened her own embrace.  
  
The two fell backwards onto the grassy hill, neither one   
willing to break that kiss. Finally, their lips parted. Tenchi   
looked at her, her face now illuminated by the soft, pale   
moonlight. He reached out and caressed her cheek.  
  
"How did I go so long without realizing I loved you?" he   
whispered.  
  
"I don't know," Ayeka told him with tears in her eyes.   
"But you're here now, and I love you." She reached out and ran   
her fingers through his hair. "I love you," she repeated.  
  
He kissed her again.  
  
"This was such a perfect day," Ayeka whispered as he kissed   
her neck. "Do you know how long I've waited for a day just like   
today? A day where I could just be alone with you?"  
  
Tenchi looked into her eyes. "We're alone now," he noted.  
  
Ayeka's breath quickened. She was having the same thoughts   
he was. She swallowed nervously. She looked into his eyes and   
saw the same nervousness, the same uncertaintly, but also the same   
love.  
  
"Tenchi," she breathed. She was close to panic. Her heart   
was pounding so hard she could hear her own heartbeat. "I...I..."  
  
He kissed her again.  
  
"I'm not ready," she whispered. "I want to," she told him.   
"I do, but..."  
  
"Shhh," he whispered. "It's okay. When we're ready," he   
assured her.   
  
She smiled at him. She remembered why she loved him so much.   
She leaned up and kissed him. "Can we just lie here for awhile?"   
she asked.  
  
He nodded and embraced her, pulling her close to him.   
Together, they looked up at the stars and held one another.  
  
  
Ryoko tried on a smile as she dressed Sizuko in one of   
Sasami's outfits.  
  
"Where are we going?" Sizuko asked quietly.  
  
Ryoko paused. "Out there," she said, nodding at the window.   
"Just you, me, and Ryo-Ohki. How does that sound?"   
  
Sizuko said nothing.  
  
Ryoko's smile dropped. She was willing to give Washu's   
idea a shot. What did she have to lose? And besides, she really   
cared for Sizuko.   
  
(You had enough love for Tenchi,) Washu had told her, (Why   
not Sizuko?)  
  
"Well," Ryoko told her. "We'll give it a try, okay?"  
  
Sizuko nodded.  
  
Washu entered the room with a datapad in her hands. "I took   
care of it. Just put your thumbprint here..." she sighed.  
  
Ryoko took the pad and stared at it. Sizuko's picture was   
there followed by several lines of an official Jurain document.   
A small square in the corner waited for her thumbprint. Ryoko   
paused and licked her dry lips.  
  
She had never felt so frightened about anything in her life.   
This was a huge responsibility. It wasn't something to be taken   
lightly. Washu, commonly held to be the greatest scientific genius   
in the universe, was so crappy at it. How would Ryoko fare?   
  
She looked over at Sizuko. The girl was looking up at her.   
Ryoko smiled at her. Then, her gaze never leaving the little   
girl, she pressed her thumb against the pad.  
  
Washu smiled and took it from her. "Ryoko Hakubi, meet   
Sizuko Hakubi." She smiled. "Your new daughter."  
  
  
"So what do you want to do tomorrow?" Tenchi asked as he   
walked hand in hand with Ayeka toward the Masaki home.  
  
"I'm sure we'll think of something," she said.  
  
"That cheesy slasher movie probably has a sequel out by now,"   
he said with a smile.  
  
She laughed. "Not a chance!" she said.  
  
He smiled at her.  
  
"What?" she asked.  
  
"I made you laugh," he whispered.  
  
She smiled back and kissed his cheek. "That you did."  
  
They opened the door and walked inside.  
  
Ryoko, Washu, Sasami, and Sizuko looked up as they entered.  
  
Tenchi and Ayeka paused in the doorway.   
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi said quietly.  
  
Ryoko stared at the two of them, but said nothing. She   
turned to Washu. "Is everything ready?"  
  
Washu nodded. "You're all set."  
  
"Ryo-Ohki?"  
  
The cabbit hopped off Sasami's head into the girl's arms   
and hugged her. Sasami hugged her back.  
  
"I'll miss you Ryo-Ohki!" Sasami wailed.  
  
"Miya!"  
  
Tenchi blinked. "Ryoko? You're leaving?"  
  
She didn't reply. She took Sizuko's hand and started for   
the door.  
  
(Say goodbye, Daughter,) she heard in her mind. (You'll   
regret doing otherwise.)  
  
Ryoko paused. Tenchi and Ayeka were staring at her in   
confusion.  
  
"Goodbye, Tenchi," Ryoko said simply.  
  
"Wait! Ryoko! Where are you going!?"  
  
Ryoko wouldn't look at him. "It's better if I go," Ryoko   
told him quietly.  
  
"Wait! Ryoko! You don't have to go."  
  
"Yes, I do." She faced him. "Yes, I do," she repeated.   
"I...stayed because of you, Tenchi. There's no reason for me to   
stay now."  
  
"Where will you go?" Tenchi asked quietly.  
  
"I'll find something."  
  
"But...How..."  
  
She looked at him again. "I'll find something." She turned   
and looked down at the little girl. "Come on, Sizuko. Time to go."  
  
Ayeka blinked. "Sizuko's going with you?"  
  
Ryoko smiled at the girl. "Yes. We need each other."  
  
"But..."  
  
Washu took Ayeka's arm and stopped her. "Sizuko is Ryoko's   
daughter now."  
  
"What?!"  
  
She nodded. "I tweaked some Jurain adoption records.   
Legally, now, they're mother and daughter." Her eyes narrowed.   
"Any objections?"  
  
Ayeka slowly shook her head. "None."  
  
"Good. Now if you'll excuse us, I'd like to say goodbye to   
my daughter and granddaughter." She walked up and hugged Ryoko.   
Ryoko paused, but returned her embrace. Washu turned and hugged   
Sizuko. "You come back and see Grandma again soon, okay?"  
  
Sizuko stared for a second, then nodded once.  
  
"Ryoko," Tenchi began again. Ayeka took his arm.  
  
"Tenchi," she said quietly. "Let her go."  
  
"Ayeka!"  
  
"You're hurting her," she whispered. "Let her go."  
  
Tenchi took a breath and faced the demon, his friend.   
"Goodbye, Ryoko. I...I hope you can find happiness."  
  
Ryoko didn't reply immediately. "Goodbye, Tenchi," she   
finally said. She started for the door again.  
  
"Ryoko," Ayeka said. "I just want you to know..."  
  
"Take care of him, Ayeka," Ryoko said, cutting her off.   
She didn't look back as she and Sizuko walked out the front door,   
Ryo-Ohki in Sizuko's arms.  
  
"Goodbye...Ryoko," Tenchi whispered.  
  
  
"Where do you suppose she is?" Tenchi asked as she looked   
up at the night sky. An entire month had passed since Ryoko and   
Sizuko had left Earth.  
  
Standing next to him on the dock of the lake, Washu looked   
up and shrugged. "Where ever she is, I think she's happy."   
Despite the way things had turned out, Washu seemed to harbor no   
bad feelings toward Tenchi or Ayeka. Tenchi counted himself lucky.   
For all her eccentricities, Washu was a good friend.  
  
Tenchi looked at her. "You think so?"  
  
Washu nodded. "You see, Tenchi, my daughter had a hole in   
her. A hole that made her feel empty inside. For the longest   
time, she wanted *you* to help fill it. She thought loving you   
gave her life a purpose, a meaning. So when you chose Ayeka...she   
became lost."  
  
Tenchi listened as Washu spoke.  
  
"But now she has someone else to fill that void in her life.   
Someone who can genuinely love her...need her." She looked over   
at Tenchi. "She's always going to love you, Tenchi, but at least   
now...Now she can find *some* happiness."  
  
Tenchi looked out at the lake, at the rock outcropping that   
once housed the legendary demon, Ryoko. "I'm glad," he said.  
  
"Tenchi?"  
  
They turned and saw Ayeka approaching. Washu smiled tiredly.   
"Good night, Tenchi. I'll see you both tomorrow." With that,   
she walked off and left the two of them alone.  
  
Tenchi reached out with his hand. Ayeka rushed forward and   
took it.   
  
"A Jurai for your thoughts," she asked him.  
  
He smiled. "I was thinking about Ryoko, actually."  
  
She nodded. "She is often in my thoughts of late."  
  
"Do you think we'll ever see her again?"  
  
Ayeka took a breath. "I think one day, maybe, she might   
come back."  
  
He turned and embraced her. "Maybe," he agreed. "But right   
now we have our own future to work on."  
  
Ayeka smiled. "Yes. Yes, we do. And it starts here." She   
leaned up and kissed him tenderly.  
  
He smiled. "I remember the first day we met," he told her.  
  
"So do I. As I recall, you were trying to take advantage of   
me."  
  
His eyes went wide. "What!?"  
  
"Breaking into a princess' bedchamber like a thief in the   
night!" she admonished him. "You should be ashamed."  
  
"Well, it's not as if I had much choice," he said with a   
smile.  
  
"Still, I was rather impressed with how fast you could run,"   
Ayeka told him.   
  
"You know what impressed me?" he asked. "How beautiful you   
looked in your sleep." He mentally berated himself. (God, that   
sounds so corny...)  
  
Ayeka didn't seem to mind. She blushed a little. "Tenchi,   
I've been thinking... I love you."  
  
"I love you too, Ayeka," he told her with a smile.  
  
"And...well...I plan on being with you for the rest of my   
life..."  
  
"So do I," he agreed.  
  
"We've already known each other for a year," she continued,   
the words coming faster as if she were racing with hesitation to   
see if she could finish before it finally got the better of her.   
"And we love each other so..."  
  
"Ayeka?"  
  
"Tenchi...I...I would like for you to....see me in my sleep   
again...as it were," she finished quickly.  
  
Tenchi blinked. He understood what she meant even if she   
couldn't come right out and say the words. He squeezed her hand   
reassuringly. "Are you sure?" he asked quietly.  
  
She nodded quickly. "Yes. I love you, Tenchi. And I   
want...to *be* with you."  
  
Tenchi, unsure of himself, wrapped his arms around Ayeka and   
kissed her. "Only if you're sure," he told her.  
  
She smiled. "Tenchi, if you were not the kind of man who   
would ask that, then I never would be. I *want* to be with you.   
Now. Forever."  
  
Tenchi took a deep breath and kissed her.  
  
"I love you, Tinuviel," he whispered.  
  
"I love you, Tenchi," she replied quietly.  
  
The two embraced again and held each other as the stars   
watched them from above.  
  
  
The End.  
  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I want to thank my two major prereaders for helping with this.   
Cav, a Ryoko fanatic, and Bobert, an Ayeka fanatic. ^_^  
I also want to thank the Total Anime Nut and Meg   
for helping me out here. Thanks everyone. The story of Beren and   
Luthien is from Tolkien's "The Silmarillion." It's not mine.   
I have the greatest respect for the late Professor Tolkien, and   
I use his story here as a tribute to him.  
  
Please send C&C to:  
Davner at...  
doscher009@hotmail.com  
  
Thank you. 


End file.
